The Daly Cherrygraph

[MadMarcus]

I wonder what would have happened if DCE never played for Manly.

I assume we probably would have kept Trent Hodkinson.

Would we have still won 2011? I think so.

Would we have won 2013? Probably not.

Would we have had more cap space to keep the glory team together a bit longer? Yes.

Would that have been a good thing? Hard to say. Gift and Choc were both busted at their new clubs, so from a roster perspective it was probably for the best that they left. But I believe that culturally we still haven’t recovered and DCE should take some responsibility for his contribution to the club’s poor culture.

Overall, I don’t think the club’s results over the last 15 years would have been much different. They may have been better, they may have been worse.

If you asked the question “what if Brett Stewart never played for Manly?”, “what if Geoff Toovey never played for Manly?” or “what if Cliff Lyons never played for Manly?” I think the answers would be far more definitive.

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

I wonder what would have happened if DCE never played for Manly.

I assume we probably would have kept Trent Hodkinson.

Would we have still won 2011? I think so.

Would we have won 2013? Probably not.

Would we have had more cap space to keep the glory team together a bit longer? Yes.

Would that have been a good thing? Hard to say. Gift and Choc were both busted at their new clubs, so from a roster perspective it was probably for the best that they left. But I believe that culturally we still haven’t recovered and DCE should take some responsibility for his contribution to the club’s poor culture.

Overall, I don’t think the club’s results over the last 15 years would have been much different. They may have been better, they may have been worse.

If you asked the question “what if Brett Stewart never played for Manly?”, “what if Geoff Toovey never played for Manly?” or “what if Cliff Lyons never played for Manly?” I think the answers would be far more definitive.

Interesting "What Ifs", MadMarcus.

I'm not sure about Hodkinson. I think he was preferred (by Des) over Cherry and was then poached by the Bulldogs, which is why DCE eventually got his shot.

But I also wonder how DCE's career would have played out if he'd never made the top grade here. He debuted in a really strong side, in a team well and truly on the rise, and was able to win a premiership in his first year. That would not have happened if he hadn't come through at Manly and wound up somewhere else. He was not a "generational talent", and it's not like other clubs were lining up to poach him from the lower grades.

Would he have got a starting role in another NRL club? Would he have made much of an impact on the NRL as a whole? Or would he have bounced around from club to club, never tasting success, and be selling real estate on the Sunshine Coast by now.

I think he wants the experience and ease of being at a strong club again - and who can really blame him for that? Hence going to the Roosters. But he still might want to stop and consider what this club has done for him and his career every once in a while.

 

[CoreyWaddellSuperFan]

I wonder what would have happened if DCE never played for Manly.

I assume we probably would have kept Trent Hodkinson.

Would we have still won 2011? I think so.

Would we have won 2013? Probably not.

Would we have had more cap space to keep the glory team together a bit longer? Yes.

Would that have been a good thing? Hard to say. Gift and Choc were both busted at their new clubs, so from a roster perspective it was probably for the best that they left. But I believe that culturally we still haven’t recovered and DCE should take some responsibility for his contribution to the club’s poor culture.

Overall, I don’t think the club’s results over the last 15 years would have been much different. They may have been better, they may have been worse.

If you asked the question “what if Brett Stewart never played for Manly?”, “what if Geoff Toovey never played for Manly?” or “what if Cliff Lyons never played for Manly?” I think the answers would be far more definitive.

All valid questions looking back, but gosh I'm looking forward to a Manly team without him.

Three more games