The Daly Cherrygraph

[Mark from Brisbane]

Possible bullsh*t being Hooper but would make sense that Politis or Gould tried to throw a 4 year deal maybe $5- $6 mil at him back then. No doubt one of them has snagged him and if it's over $1mil a year then see ya later. We've wasted enough with zero results for the last decade. No more.

At those dollars good riddance.

I have zero issues with him chasing the big dollars , if a club is willing to throw 10 million at him ( including post retirement income ) then off he goes.

And just come out and announce it , we all are sad , we cheer him on for the rest of the year , he walks away with legend status, the fans move on.

How simple would that be

 

[deanm]

It's BS , Why would we apparently be shopping him around later in Year ??? Anything penned by Hooper or Buzz is pure Fiction

And as I said previously why do we ship him around when he is, technically Off Contract in November ???????

 

[Rackets]

Would it make sense that Turbo was trying to take that pay cut last year because he knew DCE wanted more money? 🤔

The generosity and loyalty of 1 player versus the greed and selfishness of another.

 

[LeonardCohen]

It seems Choc, Snake, Gifty and co. were right about him all those years ago. So was Tallis and the senior players in the QLD Origin team. The 100% Footy stuff was a slap in the face to the club, and by club, I mean us. The club is the supporters. The board, coaches and players are all transient. We are the club and regardless of any concerns he might have with administrators or coaching staff, his display the other night was disingenuous and full of spin. We deserve better.

 

[Sheikheagle]

And as I said previously why do we ship him around when he is, technically Off Contract in November ???????

Supposedly shopping him around for this the 2025 season.

 

[ManlyTragic]

The whole thing I have gathered from this is, he wasn't low balled. They had an agreement to talk again in Round 6. Dont believe everything Chanel 9 are spinning or NRL360. Bulldog Richie has a much differeing view on this, but they dont let him say much on TV. They all talk over him.

I don’t know how he could be low balled ….. half the people on here complain that the is paid too much and it restricts us from getting a decent forward ….. but when he ssys he’s leaving they get pi&&ed off! Go figure!

 

[frank stokes]

Carayannis is saying Chez sought a release (twice) from his contract in the off season before the 24 season… this sh*t goes deeper than any of us imagined…

 

[LeonardCohen]

Supposedly shopping him around for this the 2025 season.

Personally, I do not believe that happened. If Manly wanted him gone for 2025, it would have happen in an instant. It's DCE. If anyone believes he was shopped and got the 'I'm not interested' from others clubs, it's a big fat lie. Marquee players get shopped and bought, not shopped and rejected. A guy like Gus would sell his mother's soul to make the necessary cap space, so I don't believe for a second that clubs were 'full'. Look at the Roosters cap space for this year and they've got an injured halfback. They'd have jumped on it!

My guess is DCE's manager shopped him around for 25' and asked for a release and Manly said no. The more I read about this, the more I am convinced that he doesn't like a certain someone at Manly and has wanted out for a while.

 

[Frogz]

I bet Dylan Brown is thanking DCE...taken him off the front page

 

[byso]

I suspect watmough and snake would feel justified in bagging DCE for taking overs initially that help push the group out that stayed for low money in the Golden erra.

 

[Dion Johnson]

Personally, I do not believe that happened. If Manly wanted him gone for 2025, it would have happen in an instant. It's DCE. If anyone believes he was shopped and got the 'I'm not interested' from others clubs, it's a big fat lie. Marquee players get shopped and bought, not shopped and rejected. A guy like Gus would sell his mother's soul to make the necessary cap space, so I don't believe for a second that clubs were 'full'. Look at the Roosters cap space for this year and they've got an injured halfback. They'd have jumped on it!

My guess is DCE's manager shopped him around for 25' and asked for a release and Manly said no. The more I read about this, the more I am convinced that he doesn't like a certain someone at Manly and has wanted out for a while.

Could have been the reinstatement of Choc at the club he came back in at the end of 2023 to join the coaching staff.

 

[Dion Johnson]

It's fairly easy to blame the Club and my posts last night weren't defending the Club nor were they "attacking" DCE, both parties, are in my considered opinion, at fault.

What grinds my gears is the carefully constructed narrative being perpetuated across the media mainly by those pro-DCE that the Club didn't respect him by offering him an offer, or that the Club insulted him by making him a "low-ball" offer.

The Club was told of a certain position by DCE and his agency and as late as pre-Christmas 2024 BOTH parties accepted that position.

In late January 2025 his agency and the football manager began discussions about the "possibility" of DCE continuing on however, and DCE had said this himself, he didn't wish to entertain staying at Manly as at the end of December 2024, he had made his mind up.

The Club was foolish enough and silly enough to believe that and are now paying the price for thinking that no-one else would come to the table.

Then again, perhaps the Club believed what they were told earlier in the negotiations about "where DCE was at in terms of playing on".

A question that has been running through my mind [is], why would the Club shop him around for the remaining year of his contract (2025) well before 1 November 2024 if the Club knew they weren't going to re-sign him before that date yet both parties have confirmed that "discussions" commenced at the end of the 2024 season?

If this was the case, we'd have heard about DCE being shopped around OR perhaps he was shopped around last year (as Braith Anasta leads us to believe) and at that time, there weren't too many suitors.

This entire saga has all the hallmarks for an episode of the Twilight zone.

I recently started listening to this podcast of Paul Kent, like him or not he seems to be close to the story.

If you get a chance this starts at the 9 minute mark and he starts with Penn not being happy with Mestrov and suggests there are other players unhappy with how the club is being managed and of course the Seibold unhappiness with the player group.

 

[LeonardCohen]

Every hour that passes, I am more and more convinced that the rumour I heard that he can't stand Seibs is the catalyst for this.

 

[Dion Johnson]

Every hour that passes, I am more and more convinced that the rumour I heard that he can't stand Seibs is the catalyst for this.

What was your take on what Paul Kent touched on, in regards tol larger divide at the club?

It was mentioned by Kent but there is some sentiment with people involved around the club that there are friends of our CEO given jobs at the club of late.

 

[HoldenV8]

I recently started listening to this podcast of Paul Kent, like him or not he seems to be close to the story.

If you get a chance this starts at the 9 minute mark and he starts with Penn not being happy with Mestrov and suggests there are other players unhappy with how the club is being managed and of course the Seibold unhappiness with the player group.

The problem with the "journos" (and Kent fits right into this category) is that they have dished up so much 🐂💩 that its hard to know when they're actually telling any sort of truth.

 

[LeonardCohen]

What was your take on what Paul Kent touched on, in regards tol larger divide at the club?

It was mentioned by Kent but there is some sentiment with people involved around the club that there are friends of our CEO given jobs at the club of late.

I doubt the players have any issue with Mestrov, the board, admin staff, etc. Realistically, how often would they deal with these types of people?

My guess is the divide exists between the coaching staff and players. I also suspect that life is harder for senior players that work more closely with coaching staff and buffer between the coach and broader playing group.,

 

[Dion Johnson]

The problem with the "journos" (and Kent fits right into this category) is that they have dished up so much 🐂💩 that its hard to know when they're actually telling any sort of truth.

I share that sentiment with journalists, though this is a podcast and he isn’t selling papers.

I am not saying it’s true as I don’t know, there are some that would have potentially more insights and I am interested if they can share on touch on the status.

 

[frank stokes]

Personally, I do not believe that happened. If Manly wanted him gone for 2025, it would have happen in an instant. It's DCE. If anyone believes he was shopped and got the 'I'm not interested' from others clubs, it's a big fat lie. Marquee players get shopped and bought, not shopped and rejected. A guy like Gus would sell his mother's soul to make the necessary cap space, so I don't believe for a second that clubs were 'full'. Look at the Roosters cap space for this year and they've got an injured halfback. They'd have jumped on it!

My guess is DCE's manager shopped him around for 25' and asked for a release and Manly said no. The more I read about this, the more I am convinced that he doesn't like a certain someone at Manly and has wanted out for a while.

Good chance the clubs did not think he was genuinely leaving Manly and they were just being used in negotiations… as Gus (supposedly) said “he didn’t believe it”

That’s the only reason that coming out and declaring “not Manly” makes sense to me… clubs know he is definitely available and gives him best chance to get their best offer…

 

[Dion Johnson]

I doubt the players have any issue with Mestrov, the board, admin staff, etc. Realistically, how often would they deal with these types of people?

My guess is the divide exists between the coaching staff and players. I also suspect that life is harder for senior players that work more closely with coaching staff and buffer between the coach and broader playing group.,

Yes I don’t think the divide would be Mestrov and the playing group, though there is potential that there may well be something with the football department manager and coaching staff between the playing group.

 

[Sorry]

Dollar Chaser-Evans