Source : the age
Daly Cherry-Evans always wondered about playing in the Super League, and had several conversations with his wife, Vessa, and their three young girls about packing their bags and swapping the northern beaches for the north of England.
About a month ago, Cherry-Evans started negotiations with Hull FC. On Tuesday night, he signed a one-year deal. On Friday, the world woke to the news the halfback was “closing the chapter” on his NRL career.
Even in his 16th season and at 37 years of age, Cherry-Evans is more than holding his own in the world’s premier rugby league competition, and was man of the match in the Sydney Roosters’ 12-6 win over the Panthers on Thursday night.
Cherry-Evans was asked about Hull FC after the game, but chose not to discuss his next career move for fear of taking the gloss of the statement win over a heavyweight rival.
So he waited seven hours for the club to put out a press release, then fronted the media on Friday afternoon to explain why Hull FC and why now, especially when he could have played on for another year at Bondi.
“There was definitely that voice in my head saying stay in the NRL and keep living out that dream, but there’s more to my story than just me playing in the NRL,” Cherry-Evans said.
“I guess why I play in the NRL, it’s got to do with challenging myself at the highest level, that’s a part of it, but it’s also about inspiring my family. And I feel like our family is ready for something different.
“Talking to my wife and the people we love and trust in our circle, we were told we’d never regret going over to the UK and giving the Super League a go.”
Cherry-Evans said he had never been to Hull – which was once voted England’s worst town, and was referred to as “hell” by Andrew Johns during the week – but “that’s just where I felt like the connections and relationships felt right”.
Cherry-Evans kept fans guessing most of last year about what he would do after 15 seasons with Manly. He joined the Roosters, and again, the consensus was he would either play on, or move into a cushy coaching role with the club.
“But as a person, deep down, I’ve always had that curiosity about what the Super League would be like, or what another code would be like in another country,” he said.
“If I’m being honest, I never had a timeline and I never knew when, it was just a thought kept popping up over and again.”
When told how he sold the Hull dream to his children, who all attend school and call Curl Curl home, Cherry-Evans said it was not difficult, and “at the end of the day, they’re my kids, so they get told what to do”.
Perth Bears could have done with a calm head and natural leader like Cherry-Evans, but he said if he remained in Australia, it would have been at the Roosters.
Now his future is sorted out, Cherry-Evans said he could “drop the shoulders” and focus on bowing out with a premiership ring to go with the one he collected in his debut season in 2011 at the Sea Eagles.
Pressure is mounting on the Roosters, who were outstanding defensively against the Panthers and have now won eight in a row.
Have they peaked too soon? And what about the premiership window staying open with more than 1100 games of NRL experience about to depart, including Cherry-Evans, who moved into outright second on Thursday for most games played with 373? Mark Nawaqanitawase (41 NRL games), Angus Crichton (211) and Connor Watson (187) will also leave at the end of the year, while Daniel Tupou (302) could potentially join them.
“I’m not looking to go down memory lane just yet – there’s a bit of work to be done at the Roosters” Cherry-Evans said.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson stood at the back of the foyer as Cherry-Evans conducted his media conference. Robinson, who has a golden chance to win a fourth title as coach with “DCE” in his line-up, said after the win over the Panthers he had always been an admirer, even when the halfback was at Manly.
“I saw him two or three years ago at a charity function, [and] I almost bought his boot for a couple of thousand dollars, but one of my mates got it before me,” Robinson admitted.
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