Manly Sea Eagles owner Scott Penn is adamant that club captain Daly Cherry-Evans will retire a one-club player despite links to the NRL’s newest franchise.
The Queensland native has been linked with a move to the Dolphins having played with Redcliffe in his junior career, with his existing relationship with newly-installed Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett also a factor.
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While Cherry-Evans’ eight-year, $10 million deal expires at the end of the 2023 season, Penn and the Sea Eagles aren’t prepared to see their No.7 walk out the door.
“It’s definitely our plan to make sure Daly finishes a one-club player,” Penn told The Sydney Morning Herald. “He’s our club captain and we want him to win another comp for us and help bring the young guys through.
“Of course there is that [history with Redcliffe], but he’s been with us since he was 17 or 18, his family is well entrenched on the northern beaches and it would be a big move.
“We have unfinished business, and that will be at the front of his mind. We won a comp 10 years ago, but it’s been a dry argument since. I’m sure he’s keen to prove a point and make sure he goes out on top.
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“We want him to stay. It’s only a matter of time before we work through the details.”
Bennett was unveiled as the inaugural coach of the Dolphins this week, with the master-coach admitting he “had no idea this would happen” at the start of the year after guiding South Sydney to a grand final appearance.