Hands off: Manly shoot down hopes of Dolphins attempting to lure DCE home
October 23, 2021 — 1.41pm
Manly owner Scott Penn has moved to end any hopes The Dolphins might have of luring Queensland State of Origin skipper Daly Cherry-Evans back to his home town.
Dolphins coach
Wayne Bennett spoke this week about “culture” needing to be the priority and Cherry-Evans would be the perfect candidate to help drive the supercoach’s standards.
Cherry-Evans played with Redcliffe as a kid, as did his father Troy, and
loved his time playing under Bennett during the successful Origin series last year.
Apart from being a winner on the field, the 32-year-old is a role model off the field and a doting family man, which makes him an attractive proposition for a new club trying to attract sponsors.
However, Penn does not even want Cherry-Evans being in the conversation to join the Dolphins, and vowed to make the sure the No.7 finishes a “Sea Eagle for life”.
Melbourne issued a similar “hands-off” edict to Redcliffe about Harry Grant and Cameron Munster.
With his eight-year, $10 million mega deal to expire at the end of 2023 – the year Redcliffe enter the competition – Cherry-Evans and Manly have already commenced preliminary discussions that will see him stay another year, but more likely two seasons.
“It’s definitely our plan to make sure Daly finishes a one-club player,” Penn told
The Sun-Herald. “He’s our club captain and we want him to win another comp for us and help bring the young guys through.
“Of course there is that [history with Redcliffe], but he’s been with us since he was 17 or 18, his family is well entrenched on the northern beaches and it would be a big move.
“We have unfinished business, and that will be at the front of his mind. We won a comp 10 years ago, but it’s been a dry argument since. I’m sure he’s keen to prove a point and make sure he goes out on top.
“We want him to stay. It’s only a matter of time before we work through the details.”
Bennett will look to finalise his coaching staff and then turn his sights to his playing roster. He needs a marquee man to help pave the way for other players to follow suit.
Munster and Brandon Smith have both been touted, as has Parramatta’s Reed Mahoney, while Cherry-Evans’ name has been mentioned by a few respected figures up north.
Cherry-Evans told the
Herald earlier this year he
had fond memories of Redcliffe as he prepared to play an NRL game with the Sea Eagles in his old backyard.
“My best memory was playing there at half-time during a Queensland Cup game,” he said. “I can still remember scoring a try as a kid. It gave me the biggest buzz. They had decent crowds at those games. I would have been a seven or eight years old.”
Redcliffe will this week reveal their front-of-jersey sponsor, while the Central Queensland Capras – the Rockhampton-based club where Munster grew up – have been added as a feeder club alongside the Redcliffe Dolphins.
Dolphins officials have already spoken about the fact Sydney-based players got the chance to experience a Queensland winter because of the competition being shifted north due to COVID-19 will help with their sales pitch.
Penn, whose family have ploughed millions of dollars into the Sea Eagles, welcomed the addition of a 17th club, provided “we’re growing the game and driving additional revenues for the game”.
The Sea Eagles bombed out in the preliminary finals and Penn knows the young players who were given their first taste of September football will only benefit the club in the years ahead.
Meanwhile, Manly players are expected to move into the club’s new $33 million centre of excellent at the end of February, in time for the new campaign, after COVID-19 disrupted construction.
Just as Melbourne issued a warning to The Dolphins about poaching Cameron Munster and Harry Grant, Manly have done likewise regarding Redcliffe junior Daly Cherry-Evans.
www.smh.com.au
