Gold Coast will try to tempt Daly Cherry-Evans by making the Manly half the highest paid player in the NRL should he join the Titans next year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Titans are set to offer Cherry-Evans up to $1.3 million a season to join the Gold Coast side, which has identified the 25-year-old as the player to lead it back into finals calculations.
Regardless of which club Cherry-Evans opts for long term, he is expected to join the likes of Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston as the only million dollar players in the game.
Manly, the Titans and Cronulla are in the hunt for the Australian playmaker, with rival clubs told it would take more than a million dollars for Cherry-Evans to leave Brookvale.
Titans coach Neil Henry had dinner with Cherry-Evans in Sydney recently as the Gold Coast stepped up their bid to lure him.
The loss of Cherry-Evans – who played his first junior football at Redcliffe about 1-1/2 hours outside the Gold Coast – would be a cruel blow for the Sea Eagles, who are fighting hard to retain him and teammate Kieran Foran. Titans half Aidan Sezer is also off-contract.
Foran – who will also go close to securing a $1 million contract – has attracted interest from the Eels, New Zealand, the Bulldogs and the Roosters. After South Sydney halves Adam Reynolds and Luke Keary re-signed with the defending premiers last week, the player market will not settle until the Manly pair make up their minds.
Foran told Fairfax Media that he and Cherry-Evans spoke often about their playing futures. While they would like to remain teammates, Foran said that alone would not be enough to keep them at the club.
"We love playing with one another, so it will be a pretty big impact on one another's decision," Foran said. "We're also wary of doing what is right for our families and leave one another to make that decision."
Manly have undergone a dramatic roster reshuffle in recent seasons with the likes of long-term players Brent Kite, Anthony Watmough and Glenn Stewart now playing elsewhere. While the club is hopeful of retaining centre Steve Matai, losing Foran or Cherry-Evans would see the once mighty Sea Eagles torn apart.
Foran said this pre-season was a little strange following the exit of Watmough and Stewart.
"It was a bit different, as it would be losing those sorts of players," Foran said. "There's a lot of new faces around and that has brought a lot of enthusiasm to the joint. Life goes on and you've got to move on.
"We've done that as a club. You can't replace those guys' experience but we're confident in the squad we've got. I was very tight with both boys. You find it different rocking up to training and not seeing your really close mates there but, in saying that, I've got some other really close mates in the side.
"They've made decisions for what's best for them and their families and I'm happy for them.
"Last year was one of those unfortunate years where a lot of that off-field stuff was aired out in public. It was just so hard to control but we feel we've fixed all that up now and [are] moving forward. As a club, we don't lose that winning culture just because a couple of players have left. It's a really strong culture at Manly and that will still be there."
Cherry-Evans and Foran played in Manly's Auckland Nines squad on Saturday. Cherry-Evans captained the side in both of their losses while Foran did not feature in the dying stages defeat to St George Illawarra in the second game.
