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It seemed a fait accompli that he would finish his career on the northern beaches, and while he still lives there, the 37-year-old is at the Roosters where he can finish his NRL journey with a one-and-done premiership for the eastern suburbs team.<\/p>\n
Cherry-Evans didn\u2019t always fall into structure when he first started, but he\u2019s now the experienced head, with another young star in Sam Walker wearing the No.7 and dazzling rival teams with his off-the-cuff skills. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at anyone who\u2019s 22 years old and fast forward to them as a 37-year-old, things change,\u201d Cherry-Evans said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a husband and a father now. I\u2019m sure there are some mannerisms that have held true with my footy. I\u2019m obviously more mature, so I have a better understanding of what the team needs. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was very instinctive as a young player coming through the grades. I didn\u2019t have a lot of structure around me \u2013 not that it wasn\u2019t getting coached into me \u2013 but my style of play and personality was just playing what I see. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think over time I\u2019ve become a halfback. For a long time I was a five-eighth wearing the No.7, and right now I\u2019m probably a halfback wearing the No.6.\u201d<\/p>\n
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 25: Daly Cherry-Evans of the Roosters warms up before the NRL Preliminary Final match between the Dolphins and Sydney Roosters at Suncorp Stadium on September 25, 2026, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Matt Roberts\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
The numbers suggest as much, with Cherry-Evans setting up 18 tries this season \u2013 his lowest since 2018 \u2013 but there are some striking similarities with his rookie year.<\/p>\n
The veteran has matched his debut season with seven tries, he\u2019s about to equal it with 27 games, while a win against the Knights in the grand final will ensure he finishes with the second-highest win percentage of his career, only behind 2011.<\/p>\n
The decision to leave Manly was a massive shock, as was his call to move to the English Super League next year.<\/p>\n
But he might produce the ultimate smash-and-grab job with a title in his lone season at the Roosters, with the club famously telling the world \u201cwe play for premierships\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t part of the pitch, no one said that (line) to me,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI get it\u2019s on the walls and stuff, but you see it and you believe it because of what\u2019s here: the coach, the playing group, the support from the fans, and the board. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t exactly spoken about, but when you walk in you can understand what\u2019s going on here. This club doesn\u2019t just like to be involved in the competition; they want to win the competition. <\/p>\n
\u201cCan I believe I\u2019m here? Yes, I can, to be completely honest with you. It wasn\u2019t the only reason, but a very big reason why I came here was the belief to give myself and this club a chance to win grand finals. \u201cIt\u2019s as simple as that, and it\u2019s a big reason why I play the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
28, September, 2026. NO NEWS.COM No News Wire NO AUSTRALIAN EMBARGO DAILY TELEGRAPH MUST CHECK WITH PIC DESK BEFORE USING. Sydney Roosters NRL player, Daly Cherry-Evans, at Allianz Stadium, MOORE PARK, today. Picture: Justin LloydSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
The freedom to still live in Sydney was another reason why he chose the Roosters over a potential move to Queensland, as was the chance to work under three-time premiership-winning coach Trent Robinson. <\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like he\u2019s really clear on his philosophies and visions as a coach, which is really important,\u201d Cherry-Evans said. <\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a leader that\u2019s really clear on which direction you want to go is great to see. Tactically, he has a really clear style of how he sees the games, so I\u2019ve really appreciated learning that. <\/p>\n
\u201cWithin all those beliefs and systems and structures that he\u2019s got, he has this amazing ability to make sure that his players go out there and be themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely different to what I\u2019m used to. In that regard it was very different, but that was all part of the challenge to come here. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was to earn the respect of everyone here through my performances and then also bring what I believe to be my strengths as a footy player, which I thought could help the side. <\/p>\n
Grand Final FEVER takes over Newcastle | 03:07<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the course of the season, it was a bit of figuring it all out, but I feel like we\u2019re there. We\u2019re chasing a perfect game and we haven\u2019t hit it yet, but we\u2019re all hoping that this weekend might be it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A grand final win would be the perfect way to end his career, but Cherry-Evans insists he will honour his deal with Hull FC.<\/p>\n
He laughed when asked the question and suggested it was only raised because of the time he signed with the Titans in 2015 and then ended up staying at Manly. <\/p>\n
\u201cIs that because of my history of me changing my mind?\u201d he quipped. <\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless of what happens, I\u2019ll be off next year. It\u2019s why the incentive to leave it all out there this weekend is so clear for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are still some people who find it difficult to see Daly Cherry-Evans wearing different colours this season,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":910782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-910781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=910781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/910782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=910781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=910781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}