I must admit (well I don't, but I am) that I'm looking forward to the post dce era.
Maybe I just want a change for change's sake, who knows.
So, packing up the way this has been handled by the club and Daly, then wrapping it in packing tape, putting the box to one side and seeing cats immediately jump up and sit on it....lemme say this:
I don't mind dce is moving on. I wouldn't boo him at the game either.
I think most team mates handle players coming and going easier than we do.
I don't think dce will 'dog' it, nor do I think the players will try to throw a season.
They're in the nrl for a short time. Daly's longevity is not the norm, here.
2011 was a looooong time ago and it was a super team he was privileged to be a part of.
Since then it's like he's been a very reliable vehicle (I dunno, Ford xr8?) but now we need something a bit spicier, a bit different.
I think over the last few years there's been a real stagnation to Daly's game. The nrl see him as one of the best, but Manly needed a new cog.
If these youngsters coming through are as good as the hype, then I'm even happy for a couple of transitional years until that happens.
I'm not sure where the turbo to the halves comes from as I've never even seen him there. But it's turbo so he'd go ok, I don't know.
Too long?
Daly was good, time for a change as things have stagnated.
It just reminded me of Curtis Sironen in his last Manly year where every time dce passed him the ball...he would annoyingly cutback inside and get tackled. - that level of stagnation, lol.
Have a good weekend champions.
It's interesting that this post popped up at a time when I, myself, was reflecting on his footballing prowess. For the record, I agree that DCE was successful in 2011 off the back of the 'team' he was in. I agree with Bozo that he was one of our best on the day, but that opportunity was afforded to him by the incredible work of a genuine 'team'.
In terms of his game stagnating in the last few years, I have to disagree. Personally, I think he is in career best form in all aspects, with the exception of a running game that fizzled out almost 10 years ago. The first 3-4 seasons of Daly's career, he was a lethal running threat; certainly faster than the average halfback and deceptively strong. He could take on the line and torch opposition defences. Then, overnight, it disappeared. Why? I don't know. He's still pretty quick across the ground, but it's almost like he no longer sees the opportunities and/or protects his body. It's probably why he is still running around at 36 years of age.
There were some difficult seasons for Daly (2015, 2016, 2018, 2020 stand out as the worst) and they all coincide with the lack of a genuine foil at 6, or in 2015's case, a contract saga for both himself and his foil in Kieran Foran). Under Seibs, he has probably played his best football. His work on our right edge with Olakau'atu, Tom out the back and Saab on the end of things, has been exceptional. He's been winning us games off the back of field goals and his kicking game is the best and most controlled it's ever been.
But...
In all of that, we've won 3 finals games since DCE took the reigns as captain and chief playmaker. Is that all his fault? Of course not, but he is certainly responsible for some of it. In big games and tight contests, I have seen him struggle to have an impact. Last year's final against the Chooks is a good example. We were in the game and pressing at one point in the second half and had a number of sets on the Roosters line and he couldn't find a way to get it done. We didn't look like scoring. He didn't look like he had a plan. That brings me to Daly's biggest weakness. He is a bit of a flat track bully. Not the worst of them but there's a touch of it in his game. When the going is good, he is unstoppable. When the going gets tough, he tries, but is largely ineffective. Sure, he'll kick a field goal in a tight contest, but they're often in round games against average opposition, to steal victory after a pretty poor performance. Whereas the likes of Cronk, Thurston, Cleary, and Johns, would come up with a try in the heat of a finals battle against quality opposition.
Anyway, I still think DCE is terrific player, in spite of his questionable moral code, but if there's one weakness in his game, it's the low % stuff that wins big games against quality opposition. I hope whoever steps up in the coming years, can be a big game player...but they're bloody hard to find!
Great to see you back BBTB.
