“Nobody said anything, it was all in the vault, and Daly obviously felt like he had to come out [on Monday night] with the press around it.
“There’s no animosity between Daly and the club. I spoke with him before I came to this press conference. There’s no problem with Daly and the club, no problem with Daly and me, and no problem with Daly and the coach (Anthony Seibold).
“Daly has told a few teammates it will be his last year this year, and it’s up to Daly to quantify that at whatever point he wants to – the ball is in his court.”
Mestrov said the club spoke to Cherry-Evans about continuing at the club as a coach, and last November about playing on another 12 months. He denied the club had proposed a deal that was disrespectful to the 36-year-old.
“We haven’t lowballed him because it’s just been a discussion,” Mestrov said. “The first formal offer was this morning. During the ongoing discussion, there was no lowballing at all – there’s no such thing as a lowball figure.
“We wouldn’t do that to disrespect Daly. It wouldn’t be on. We’re not about that. The club respects the past, and respecting what he has done at the club.”
Cherry-Evans will have plenty of clubs keen to have a conversation should he feel like playing on. There is almost a romanticism with the Gold Coast Titans, the club he famously backflipped on ten years ago, which is now coached by good friend Des Halser, and has a gun forward pack that appeals to all playmakers.
No more Sea Eagles for Daly Cherry-Evans after 2025.Credit: NRL Imagery
The move to announce a contract extension off of $1.4million on Fox Sports was not a “knee-jerk reaction”, according to Mestrov, and he said: “I felt like from a club point of view we needed to come out and clarify that we want Daly to stay here … and that we are being proactive. It wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction, it was already spoken about [earlier] that day before we had any knowledge of Daly going on 100% Footy.”
Manly host Parramatta at 4 Pines Park on Sunday afternoon, and Mestrov hoped fans respected Cherry-Evans, and would not boo him like Eels fans did when Dylan Brown played his first game after it emerged he would be leaving.
“I hope he gets a positive reception,” Mestrov said.
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“He’s come out and said, ‘I won’t be at the club next year’, but he wants to win a premiership. I hope the fans celebrate his career here, and cheer him and back him. I know they will.”
The Sea Eagles’ premiership window will be partially shut once Cherry-Evans departs, but Mestrov said the club had faith in young playmakers Onitoni Large and Joey Walsh, wand hinted at the Tom Trbojevic five-eighth experiment becoming a reality when he said, “we’ve got other plans for other players to move position”.
