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Come to think of it there was another line .. from memory it was always backing up ..
Speaking of support play, if there is one area in which we are amongst the elite teams in the comp this is it. Tommy, DCE, Koula, Garrick and Saab are all elite backer uperers. Weekes is potentially in that elite list as well. Croker, Parker, Schuster and Jake aren't as quick but will never give up on a play even when the ball has gone past them. If we can generate the offloads and line breaks we will take advantage more often than most teams.
 

DCE leads Manly a different way after stint with Brownlow ace​

Christian Nicolussi

ByChristian Nicolussi

February 25, 2023 — 1.30pm

Daly Cherry-Evans returned to Manly a different man after spending time in Melbourne working with Carlton captain and Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps.

Cherry-Evans and Josh Schuster made the trek last month to work on their kicking technique. The Manly skipper struck up an immediate rapport with Cripps.

“Since that trip I’ve seen significant growth in his leadership,” coach Anthony Seibold told The Sun-Herald of Cherry-Evans. “Just the way he asks questions of others, the way he presents himself in front of the group, and even the way he owns the huddle. I’m proud of the way he’s led the group since he’s come back.”
Cripps also took a lot out of the experience.

“Spending time discussing our approaches to leadership and how it overlaps in both games we play was really worthwhile,” Cripps said.
“The best part was just asking each other questions about experiences we faced as a club, and especially Daly, with his experience playing for Manly, Queensland in Origin and Australia.”

Cherry-Evans, 34, has had to use all his experience to adapt to playing under another coach, and to dust himself off after losing the Kangaroos No. 7 jersey to Nathan Cleary. While he helped prepare the Roos to win the World Cup, he won’t let on how much it crushed him not being on the field in the final.

Whenever heads have rolled on the northern beaches, Cherry-Evans has been the one most affected. Nobody works more closely with the coach than the club’s $10 million man.

Cherry-Evans started under Des Hasler in 2011, then played for Geoff Toovey when Hasler left amid controversy to join the Bulldogs. Trent Barrett took the helm from 2016-18. He also left amid drama as Hasler made his second coming. Hasler was shown the door at the end of last season after again falling out with club management. Seibold is the club’s fifth coach (counting Hasler twice) in just over 12 years.

“This is my fifth change of coach, but you just have to embrace it, and I’ve never been one to dwell on change,” Cherry-Evans said.
“You always get a bit of sadness when it happens. I’ve had four really good coaches who have had an impact on me as a player and person. He [Hasler] was a very loyal man, which is something I will always appreciate.
“I’ve prided myself on being able to adapt, be it a rule change, a change in game plan or even a change in coach.”

Cherry-Evans worked with Seibold when he was an assistant to Barrett. He said the former South Sydney and Brisbane mentor had galvanised the playing group.
If Seibold’s time at the Sea Eagles is to be a success, he needs Tom Trbojevic fit and firing. He needs Cherry-Evans at his best nearly as much.
His World Cup setback has motivated Cherry-Evans. He also had to pick himself up after being stripped of the Kangaroos vice-captaincy, especially as coach Mal Meninga wanted him as James Tedesco’s deputy.

“I’m a competitive guy; I went over to England with the motivation to be the Australian halfback, but it didn’t work out,” Cherry-Evans said.

“That’s life. Sometimes you don’t get what you want, and you’re not the right man for the job. I’ve accepted it. But it’s given me extra motivation to keep my game at a higher level, and to try and go to another level this year with my teammates.

“I got dropped from the Australian team. That keeps the fire burning in the belly. It’s Nathan’s [Cleary] jersey until he retires now, but if a situation pops up where he’s not available, I want to be playing good footy so I’m straight back in there.”

Club legend Ken Arthurson, 93, still rates Cherry-Evans above Cleary, and says it is not his Manly bias.

“Irrespective of his age, in my view he’s still as good, if not the best halfback in the game,” Arthurson said.

Cherry-Evans will team up with Cooper Johns next Saturday against Canterbury in the Sea Eagles’ season opener. A few years ago, Johns made a point of studying the top halfbacks, taking one element of their game and trying to implement it into his own.

He liked the way Cleary dominated the middle third of the field, and noted Cherry-Evans was always pushing up in support.

“Dad [Matthew Johns] always said ‘Chez’ was the best supporting half in the NRL,” Johns said. “If the ball goes the other way, his job isn’t done and he’ll push through the middle of the field. That’s why he gets so many long-distance tries. He’s always looking to capitalise on line-breaks.”​


It’s been a difficult period on the northern beaches, but there’s a different vibe about the club in 2023. They have a new coach, and a skipper with a point to prove
Ha ha ha! Like any VFLer will ever need to know how to deal with being dumped from the national team. Or even a state team for that matter.
 
Had a good one. Glad he had a one up over Munster / Hughes after last week against Cleary
 
He had a great game and deserves the kudos. He also deserves the mud slinging when he goes missing when most needed. It’s probably ridiculous to say given how far we are into his tenure, but would like to see this performance on a consistent basis.
 
Thought he had a poor game to his standards, especially with the boot. Got it right finally with the Saab try, but just had a lot of his trademark headless chook moments in that game. He needs to reel it in and just play structured and calm at times, no need to always try push the envelope. Should bounce back at Brooky next week.
 
Thought he had a poor game to his standards, especially with the boot. Got it right finally with the Saab try, but just had a lot of his trademark headless chook moments in that game. He needs to reel it in and just play structured and calm at times, no need to always try push the envelope. Should bounce back at Brooky next week.


And yet many here gave DCE one of the three best player awards. His fantasy points, which assess based on specific actions on the field, had him as second behind Sipley (who had an exceptional game despite being on the field for only a little over 40 minutes).

When we lose, we look to blame, identify players who were considered responsible. Fact is its usually because much of the team is off the boil for reasons hard to define. Maybe a let down from their effort against the Storm (they took it easier, didn't put in the same effort?).

Can see this in several aspects of the game and I'm sure this is what the coach will be looking at, more than individual performances.

Against Penrith
Time in Possession: 45%
Completion rate: 78%
Missed Tackles: 42
Ineffective Tackles: 17
Defense Efficiency: 84%

Against Wests
Time in Possession: 42% (Wests had 50% more ball in possession)
Completion rate: 67%
Missed tackles: 36
Ineffective tackles: 17
Defense Efficiency: 87%

Against Storm:
Time in Possession: 54%
Completion Rate: 83%
Missed Tackles: 14
Ineffective Tackles: 10
Defense Efficiency: 92.5%

You can go through other figures and see the difference in overall commitment. Forget looking to lay fault on one player. This is a team issue. For some reasons teams' commitment rises and falls (like individual player performances) and that more than anything else contributes to the overall performance. Lots of factors contribute. I'm sure as stated these are the issues Seibs will be examining.
 
Haha I love seeing the fanboi’s come out when we win. He was deadset ordinary yesterday beside that final kick. Lacked any kind of leadership for a majority of the game.

Now to be fair to the little fanboi’s, he’s been decent this year. As he should be, being one of the highest payed players in the game.
 
The play right after halftime where Bula made it out of the ingoal sums up DCE for mine. Saab made a great break and instead of using the field position and building pressure down their end, DCE kicks down the wing on 2nd tackle to a slow Harper with 3 Tigers players in front of him. Now maybe that could've worked if Saab were there chasing and wasn't the man who was just tackled but it was such a low percentage play which has become pretty synonymous through DCE's career and his lack of game management.

One thing I will credit him for was the assist for Haumole's try, they have played on the same edge for 3 seasons now and I think that was the first time I've seen him put Haumole through a hole with a pass. Schmole could be even better than he is now with a halfback that actually sets him up so hopefully there is more of that to come.
 
The play right after halftime where Bula made it out of the ingoal sums up DCE for mine. Saab made a great break and instead of using the field position and building pressure down their end, DCE kicks down the wing on 2nd tackle to a slow Harper with 3 Tigers players in front of him. Now maybe that could've worked if Saab were there chasing and wasn't the man who was just tackled but it was such a low percentage play which has become pretty synonymous through DCE's career and his lack of game management.

One thing I will credit him for was the assist for Haumole's try, they have played on the same edge for 3 seasons now and I think that was the first time I've seen him put Haumole through a hole with a pass. Schmole could be even better than he is now with a halfback that actually sets him up so hopefully there is more of that to come.
While that was a good ball you cant judge it because it was against the tigers
last year foran had oku running onto the ball when dce was out for qld and he looked even better, stood deep but that data doesn't count because the team was tigers. Read it on here

warriors too, may as well have a shocker, it doesnt count
 
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Haha I love seeing the fanboi’s come out when we win. He was deadset ordinary yesterday beside that final kick. Lacked any kind of leadership for a majority of the game.

Now to be fair to the little fanboi’s, he’s been decent this year. As he should be, being one of the highest payed players in the game.
And you watch who was the player after our last try gathering the boys together giving instructions it was jake not DCE.
 
probably my single biggest gripe is his kicking game

while he is NOT soft i think he takes the soft option in his positioning to kick far too often to make us a consistent threat

so in essence we spend a lot of the game kicking for there wingers instead of ours.

some of this is completely understandable due to momentum, the pack but his desire to be well sheltered costs us a kick chase game too frequently. its not as effective if chasers have to keep the 10m. he needs to dart into the line and kick on occasions

and you get a few random bursts

our kickchase game lacks organisation. FULL STOP. it is the kickers role FULL STOP
you can see there is no chase STRUCTURE or awareness in the line i

kick chase has always been a sure fire way to fix a big % of your woes but we, have to be in the mood and rarely are, in one of the MOST important disciplines in the game.

currently there is a raft of kick innovations in the game, the wobbly spiral, short drop out, short kick off and we are not part of that it seems

it was great to see the saab try but that kick goes up 6 times a week and its either too short , not high enough for saab to do anything. the timing has been way off, not saabs ability to jump

saab and turbo chasing on an edge could be a major weapon for a decent kick and could be a terrific Plan B if we had a Plan A. but we need momentum, play the ball, good pass, kick that keeps the danger men onside. its why our manly memories are littered with tom being the only chaser, because he is only one onside

he needs to model his game on reynolds in his pre retirement years and let his natural abilities make him look far swisher .

he could do a benji and could ice 15 years of eratic footy with a coming of age and a spike in leadership or he can go out swinging , dinging and fring a linging. he doesnt have to grow and extra leg or take 5 seconds off his PB, just kick in the line, and take a few whacks for the enormous advantage it could bestow upon us
 

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