Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans has revealed a new head coach for the Sea Eagles could be the “fresh start” his side needs to turn around their fortunes in 2023.
Cherry-Evans, who was informed of Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler’s employment termination while fulfilling World Cup duties in England, said changes to the club's coaching staff could ignite a new beginning for Manly.
Busy steering the green and gold men to an impressive 42-8 win over Fiji in England on Sunday, the veteran halfback admitted it "has been nice to be a little bit detached" from the situation unfolding on Sydney's Northern Beaches but is prepared to embrace the club's changes.
Match Highlights: Australia v Fiji
“As it was developing it was always looking like it was going to end badly so it’s disappointing to see Des go because I’ve got a great relationship with him,” Cherry-Evans told the media following Australia’s win over Fiji on Sunday.
“The club’s chosen a decision to move forward and it’s time to be excited about what’s coming in even though we’re not quite sure what that looks like yet.
“It's going to be a completely fresh start for the playing group and I’m pretty sure we’ll all be looking forward to getting in there and rectifying what was a pretty poor year last year.”
The Sea Eagles seemingly struggled to recover from adversity faced throughout the 2022 season and finished the year with a disappointing seven straight losses, ending the year in 11th after coming just one game short of a grand final last year.
But the one-club playmaker believes the appointment of a new head coach could help Manly launch “a new era at the club" and reclaim their position as finals contenders.
DCE puts it on a platter for Tuipulotu
“I definitely think the end of the season was a blessing. We didn’t look like we were winning any games anytime soon and I think we needed the break,” Cherry-Evans said.
“In that season, we just couldn’t get out of the rut but we need to get back to finals-style footy again.
“We all needed a holiday and when we come back, we’re going to have a new coach and new coaching staff and that’s exactly what we need to kickstart a new campaign and a new era at the club.
"The stuff off-field at the moment, it’s not ideal but these things obviously get a bit more traction when you’re not winning footy games so the priority for us has to be to get back out there and play some good footy."
The 33-year-old's commitment to the maroon and white jersey remains unquestioned, but the 283-game veteran has also backed his Kangaroos teammate Jake Trbojevic to see out his contract in the northern district, despite reported concerns.
Kangaroos Starring Roles: Jake Trbojevic
“I haven’t spoken to Jake about it, he isn’t really someone who likes to open up on these sorts of things,” Cherry-Evans said.
“But I know how passionate he is about the club and anyone who is passionate about the club has had a hard week because we care about the place and want to see it do well.
“I value Jake as a teammate, I love him in the team and I can’t imagine not playing footy with him."
The only remaining member of the Manly side that Hasler guided to victory in the 2011 grand final, Cherry-Evans said he has been in contact with the coach who handed him his NRL debut 11 years ago, and was thankful for the role he'd played in his career.
![Cherry-Evans and Des Hasler following Manly's 24-10 Grand Final win over the Warriors in 2011.](https://www.nrl.com/contentassets/4eec5798fc0b4df5a56b28b847fb3db1/59674815_hasler-amp-evans-11100218.jpg?center=0.67%2C0.563&preset=photo-inline)
“I never felt as though Des wasn’t going to be the coach next year but these things happen, it’s rugby league,” he said.
“I’m just a player so I’m not sure how they handle business like that; I’ve never had to handle it but it obviously wasn’t ideal to see a club that I care about spoken about so poorly.
“Des has had a big impact on my footy career so I definitely felt the courtesy to send him a message and I’m sure he is someone I’ll stay in contact for a long time with.”