"One last dance": Cherry-Evans reflects as he prepares to farewell Manly

One last dance.

That’s the theme around the Manly Sea Eagles as they prepare to farewell captain Daly Cherry-Evans tonight at a packed out Brookvale Oval.

It’s an occasion six months in the making after Cherry-Evans announced on live TV back in March he would be leaving the Sea Eagles at the end of the season.

It’s been a rollercoater for the club and captain since, with counteroffers and rejections made on TV, rumours of rifts between the playing group and coach, and a struggle to find consistency that, barring mathematical miracles, will see them miss finals.

It is expected Cherry-Evans will continue his career into a 16th season at the Sydney Roosters, though no official announcement has been made by the club.

The Manly skipper will be 37-years-old at the start of next season and, coinciding with Manly’s poor form, rumours of the Roosters having cold feet or Cherry-Evans potentially retiring were floated.

But in the last fortnight, Cherry-Evans has recaptured his best form, amassing eight try assists in the past two rounds to ensure that when his 352nd and final game for the Sea Eagles ends, it will come with a warm reception from the Manly faithful.

Asked about his final game in the maroon and white, the usually forward-thinking Cherry-Evans reflected on his career that started at the club in 2011.

“(I’ve) definitely been thinking about it at different times this week,” Cherry-Evans admitted.

“Over the experience of my career, I've been really good at blocking out those kinds of distractions.

“At times I'm wandering around reflecting on my time here, but it certainly hasn’t been in a bad way.

“(I’ve had) a lot of really good memories here, great times on and off the field, friendships, a few what ifs we’ve had on finals campaigns over the years but no angry, sad, or frustrated feelings.

“When I have wandered down that memory lane, it’s all been pretty good to be honest.

“I actually cannot thank the people on the hill enough for the support I’ve been given, not just this year but the last 15 years has been unbelievable.

“The way they chant your name sometimes, stick through you when your form’s bad, they’ve been so loyal to the club and in particular myself and I’m forever grateful for them

“Even though this is probably the last game here, I still want to get a win.”

Cherry-Evans won a premiership in his first season back in 2011 and, 26 State of Origin appearances for Queensland and 21 appearances for Australia later, the 2013 Clive Churchill Medallist has been a stalwart and much beloved figure on the Northern Beaches.

Cherry-Evans is also the Sea Eagles most-capped player and captain, with coach Anthony Seibold paying credit to his skipper’s leadership.

“We’ll miss him, there’s no doubt about that,” Seibold said.

“Even though this is probably the last game here, I still want to get a win.

“I’ll miss him from a personal point of view, but we do have some really good emerging leaders coming through, and ‘Chez’ has been able to hand the baton over to that group of guys over the years.

“He’s had a wonderful career here, and it’s about one last dance with Chez tomorrow night. That’s the theme for the group.”

Manly fans will get a chance to see the passing of the baton in Friday’s game with young half Joey Walsh set to debut and play the final 10-15 minutes alongside the man who’s mentored him this season.

Walsh is earmarked as the long-term halfback at the Sea Eagles, though he will sit behind Jamal Fogarty next season when the Raiders’ halfback arrives.

The Sea Eagles will also farewell Toafofoa Sipley, who played 99 games since debuting in 2016, and Jazz Tevaga, who will fittingly play his final game in the NRL against the Warriors, whom he played nine seasons with before his move to the Northern Beaches.