DCE states case in Manly victory

DALY Cherry-Evans pushed his case for a Queensland State of Origin recall, as he shot Manly into the NRL’s top four with a 35-18 flogging of Cronulla.

Cherry-Evans set up three tries and kicked a field goal in the win, to continue his careerbest form yesterday at Southern Cross Group Stadium.

His only blemish came when he threw an intercept ball for Cronulla’s Luke Lewis late in the first half, who ran 80 metres to score and threaten a typical Sharks comeback.

But after the Sharks scored again through Sosaia Feki, Cherry-Evans stood up, slotting over a field goal on the half-time siren. Cronulla suffered a blow when hooker Jayden Brailey was rushed to hospital with a possible broken jaw midway through the second half.

Queensland Origin winger Valentine Holmes also appeared to battle a hip injury early, but regained his fitness later in the match. Largely forgotten in the Maroons’ selection race to replace Johnathan Thurston, Cherry-Evans’ performance must now surely put him in the race for at least a bench spot.

He targeted NSW five-eighth James Maloney in defence, regularly directing traffic at him.