“That’s an easy fix”: Cherry-Evans remaining optimistic about Manly’s defence ahead of finals

Manly Sea Eagles captain Daly Cherry-Evans has brushed off concerns about his side’s defensive abilities after they conceded 40 points against the Cronulla Sharks on Sunday afternoon.

Anthony Seibold’s side has ended the regular season on a disappointing note on the defensive side of the ball, letting in more than 22 points in six of the last seven games – an average of 27 points per match.

Although Manly have shown impressive form with the ball in hand, the defensive woes have put the side’s Premiership credentials into question.

Despite the worrying trend, Cherry-Evans is confident in the team’s ability to fix their defensive issues on the back of some impressive performances throughout the season.

“It definitely didn’t go the way we wanted it to, that’s the way footy goes sometimes, you have your good days and bad days,” Cherry-Evans said on SEN 1170 Mornings.

“We’ve had some really good days this year and obviously yesterday we let in 40 points, so that’s an easy fix for us, once we get that sorted we’ve got to lean on those good games we’ve had this year.

“Finals is a different beast, we’ll take a lot of confidence out of some of the good wins we’ve had this year but we’ve got to be willing to go to another level.

“Finals footy is all about going to another level, showing that desperation and that competitiveness to do whatever it takes to get a win.

“I’ve seen it in our team this year and I know we can bounce back this weekend.”

Cherry-Evans emphasised his belief that Manly will be leaning on the winning performances heading into finals, as opposed to dwelling on the losses.

“We’re always working on our footy, there’s a reason why we finished 7th because we obviously had some really good games and we also had some games that we weren’t really proud of,” Cherry-Evans added.

“Ultimately, we just need to lean on the games that went well for us, there’s no point of us walking into the finals and worrying about all those losses that we had this year.

“The fact is that we won enough games to get there and that’s the stuff we need to be reminding ourselves, is that our best footy is very good.”

Manly will travel to Accor Stadium on Sunday afternoon for the second elimination finals against the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs.