THE AUSTRALIAN
By Will Swanton
Last week, Daly Cherry-Evans was on stage at the NRL finals launch. He spoke in eloquent yet detached tones about Manly’s prospects of upsetting Cronulla in the first week of the play-offs.
He said a lot but gave nothing away, once again behaving `like a politician in football boots.
The compere laughed at his statesmanlike attitude and said: “How very Daly Cherry-Evans of you.”
At 10.48am on Tuesday, when it was bucketing down at the Sea Eagles headquarters, one player was on the field long after training had finished. Cherry-Evans.
He grabbed balls about 30 metres from a tryline. He skipped to the right and kicked towards the in-goal, aiming for a patch of grass closest to the right sideline.
The weather got worse. Cats. Dogs. Brass monkeys. He stayed. He was drenched. Conditions were so bad you could barely see him.
He resembled the last golfer on a driving range, painstakingly going through his repetitions. Six balls finished grouped together as though he was hitting pitching wedges at a flag. The accuracy was uncanny.
The professionalism was real. That was very Daly Cherry-Evans of him.
His performance against the Sharks? Captain’s knock. He should have raised a bat at full-time.
Leading his injury-ravaged, suspension-tainted team against formidable, muscular opposition, he had the ball on a string, just as he did in the waterlogged solo rehearsal for Friday night’s sudden-death clash against South Sydney.
It’s his return to ANZ Stadium, to the scene of his toughest four-day stretch of the year, one that reduced him to tears when it was all said and done. Queensland’s 26-20 loss in the State of Origin decider was followed by the Sea Eagles’ 21-20 defeat to the Rabbitohs at Homebush.
He denied he was spooked by going back. That was very Daly Cherry-Evans of him.
“That was a tough week, a tough four days, back-to-back losses,” he said. “If you’re alluding to, am I daunted by it? Not at all. They’re experiences that I’ll never forget and lessons I’ll never forget from both those games.
“Hopefully I’m a little bit wiser and a little bit smarter for it, and hopefully I can show that this weekend.
“The best way to explain it is that it was a very emotional four days but I love my job too much to describe it as a low point. I’ve got too much appreciation for how lucky I was to even play in State of Origin, and to lead Queensland out, and to continue to lead Manly out every week.
“I genuinely have too much appreciation for my job to feel as though I have low points in life or in footy.”
Asked what lessons were learnt, he said: “Um, you’ll have to wait and see.” Very Cherry-Evans.
He downplayed the virus that forced him out of Monday’s recovery session.
Was he crook against the Sharks? Contagious? It would not have mattered.
They barely laid a hand on him. Dylan Walker reckons he gave a tremendous pre-match speech at Lottoland last Saturday night. “I’d be lying if I said I don’t think during the week about what I’m going to say,” Cherry-Evans said.
“Getting the feel for what the boys are thinking, how they’re training, what the mood is, it all comes into consideration.
“If your teammates come out and say it was a really good speech and it got them motivated, that’s really satisfying to hear as a leader. Sometimes you never know if you’re talking garbage and it goes in one ear and out the other.
“My preparations are quite clear and a pre-game speech is part of that.
“I enjoy motivating my teammates and even myself. When I’m talking, I believe what I say.”
Cherry-Evans said he had read books and listened to podcasts on the art of leadership. Asked to name what specific material he had explored, he said: “Ah, just the normal stuff.” Very Daly Cherry-Evans of him.
The tone of his next speech? It would relate to the need to reach another level. The Sea Eagles played well against the Sharks. They need to play great to beat Souths.
“It was freezing out there today,” he said after training. “It was pouring. By the sound of it, it might be good preparation for this Friday night, if the rain hangs around.
“Not a bad thing to get through a session in the wet. Just getting my kicking reps in is part of my own preparation, so I’m nice and clear that I’ve done the work during the week.
“It just becomes second nature. Kicking is so important to every side. I’ve got to make sure I play my role.
“Practising kicking is enjoyable, so I don’t mind hanging around after training.”
He trained with diligence. He spoke politely but gave little away again. Very Cherry-Evans.
Reminded that so much of the Sea Eagles’ hopes rested on his shoulders, he replied: “When you win you get praised and when you don’t, there’s the other side of it. That’s OK with me.
“I’ve got a lot of experience, a lot of clarity going into games, I’m always nice and clear what my role is and how I can get the best out of myself.
“I understand externally the stakes are higher. It’s got to be built up because it’s final footy. You guys want to call it pressure situations.
“I call it finals footy. It doesn’t daunt me. It excites me. When you get written off, it’s even better. Because when you prove ’em all wrong, it’s a pretty nice feeling.”
That last sentence was especially Daly Cherry-Evans of him.
