Cooper Cronk's blunt advice for DCE after worrying scenes for Manly Sea Eagles

Yahoo

a day ago

Storm and Roosters great Cooper Cronk has warned Daly Cherry-Evans about the risk he faces of playing a season too long in his career with concerns growing around the halfback's performances. On Monday, highlighted Cherry-Evans' lack of physicality during a try in his side's 26-12 loss to the Tigers on the weekend.
Fans noted a moment in the game when Cherry-Evans appeared to put little effort into a tackle on Sunia Turuva before the Tigers winger went on to score. Turuva was on odds to score considering he was so close to the try line after the break.
But instead of throwing his body at Turuva to try and bring him down he hesitated with the Tigers winger strolling over the line. And Queensland great Cronk has analysed the same situation with some telling comments.
While the Manly captain may not be as fast as he once was, Cronk believes he can't shy away from his responsibilities. 'The ball goes through here and Daly has an opportunity to come back through here on Turuva, and missed him. That's a hips tackles, legs tackle every day of the week,' Cronk said on Fox Sports.
Cronk also offered some advice regarding Cherry-Evans's next move. The 36-year-old will leave Manly at the end of the season, but his next move is unknown. While he is heavily linked to the Roosters, there are also claims he could retire.
And the Queensland great wanted Cherry-Evans to find his physicality if he wants to play one more season. 'The advice to Daly is, mate, if you want to play on, do whatever — but find your physicality,' Cronk said.
'Because I know at the back end of my career, I limped to the finish line. Getting a whack (in attack), squaring up defenders wasn't enjoyable at 36 years of age. But, you have to do it because it created space for other people. Once I stepped away from it, that would have hurt the team's performance.
'As a half (in defence), once you lose that physical nature, no shoulder contact, falling over, you're missing the contest.' Cronk did praise Cherry-Evans as a Manly legend and hoped he received his accolades this weekend in his 350th game.
Manly have games against the Dolphins, Dragons and Warriors to finish the season, and would need to win all three to have any chance of surging into the playoffs. And since Manly fans have become fed-up with the string of losses, some are calling for a change in the halves.
Joey Walsh 'more than ready' for Manly selection
Some Manly fans have been calling for young Joey Walsh to get an opportunity in the No.7 jersey considering Cherry-Evans won't be at the club next year. Some Sea Eagles supporters feel the team should be looking to blood the youngster early as they prepare for 2026 considering it's unlikely they'll be playing NRL finals footy this season.
Speaking to last week, Walsh's manager said he's more than ready for NRL level if called upon. "Joey's a very ambitious, confident, charismatic kind of a kid, so if it was up to him, he'd want to play and play now," Cameron Day told Yahoo Sport Australia. "He feels he's ready to go and would love to get that phone call any day.
"He's a high-achieving alpha dog who is ready for anything that's thrown at him. But selections are none of my business. That's a coach's decision and there is no pressure whatsoever from anyone at our end or Joey's.
"Those experienced halves in front of him have been great to him and he's learning from them, and if it rolls that way and he doesn't get picked this year, that's no stress at all. He's very much a team player and will play where he gets picked."