DCE to prove point after Maroons snub
DALY Cherry-Evans’ omission from Queensland’s State of Origin squad will only be Manly’s gain, according to Sea Eagles coach Trent Barrett.
Cherry-Evans will get his first chance to take out his Origin fury on a desperate Penrith at Pepper Stadium tonight.
Barrett said Cherry-Evans had not been ill-affected by Queensland’s decision to overlook him and instead believed it would only act to fire him up further to continue his careerbest form.
“He was down in the dumps for about half a day and he was back into it,” Barrett said.
“His right of reply is on the field (tonight) and over the back end of the season.”
Cherry-Evans openly aired his frustration earlier in the week but has vowed to not be left kicking stones.
Instead, he promised to put the energy towards ensuring Manly make a dominant charge at this year’s finals to claim his second NRL premiership.
“When you’re close and you miss out, I guess that hurts more than not being in the race at all,” he said.
“At the end of the day, I can move on now knowing that it’s not to be this year and I’m going to continue to work hard here at Manly and try to push forward to these finals.
“It’s hard not to, as a captain, sort of think bigger picture and where you can possibly end up with the squad we have, and the coaching staff being able to implement their game plan.”
Barrett says Cherry-Evans is the form halfback of the competition with 20 try assists, 16 line-break assists and two 40-20s – which is second to only Melbourne star Cameron Smith.
Crucial to Cherry-Evans’ turnaround has been the regeneration of the Sea Eagles’ playing roster.
The recruitment of fiveeighth Blake Green from Melbourne has given the team a second point of attack, evidenced by the fact they have forced 30 dropouts between them – more than any other combination.
Manly are also ranked second in attack, while Barrett has been clear in the fact this has become Cherry-Evans’ team in 2017, crucial given the departure of a number of longserving players.
“I’ve got a lot of people to thank around the team and even a few people externally that I didn’t know this time last year,” Cherry-Evans said.
“So I’m grateful for where we’re at as a club, and definitely individually.
“I think there’s only three players in the squad, maybe four, that are left from 2013 so it’s been a crazy couple of years.” PREMIERSHIP coach Jimmy Lenihan has been guaranteed his Queensland Cup post at Burleigh in the wake of two rival mentors stepping down.
Lenihan has coached the Bears in two stints since 2006 and was at the helm for their charge to the title last year.
But their premiership defence has been disjointed – not helped by an early season injury crisis – with five wins from 16 starts leaving them languishing in 11th place.
Stuttering seasons from Norths and Tweed Heads has seen Mark Gliddon and Aaron Zimmerle announce this week their respective resignations at the end of the season.
Bears chief executive Damian Driscoll however assured fans that Lenihan will be the man in charge in 2018.
“It hasn’t been the year we wanted after winning the competition but we have every confidence that Jimmy will turn it around,” Driscoll said.
The Bears travel to Papua New Guinea for their clash with the Hunters tomorrow.