MARK ‘SPUDD’ CARROLL: Daly Cherry-Evans owes it to Manly fans to reveal his NRL plans

It’s been 217 days since Daly Cherry-Evans went on live TV to abruptly announce he’d be quitting Manly at the end of the 2025 season.

And it’s been 53 days since DCE played his 352nd - and last - game for the club.

So why on earth are we yet to hear what his plans are for 2026?

Is he off to the Roosters as has long been speculated?

Or maybe he’s joining the Sharks if you believe the wild rumours reported from one of those listener phone-in, breakfast radio rumours segments.

Perhaps Cherry’s decided to call time on his stellar career and put the feet up.

Could he be moving into coaching or the media – or combining both like Mick Ennis?

He could be riding the favourite in next week’s Melbourne Cup for all we know.

And that’s the point I’m trying to make.

After he de-railed the Sea Eagles’ season by turning his back on them after three rounds of the season, we still don’t fully know why he did it and where he’s off to.

None of our business, I hear some of you say.

He’s off contract and can do what he likes.

Well, I call bullshit on that.

I think Manly fans are entitled to some answers now the dust has settled on the year, and he’s been out of the joint for two months.

And I’ve got no doubt plenty of Roosters supporters would love to know what’s doing as their team prepares to head back into pre-season training.

If they’ve signed him, why are they taking so long to announce it?

If he’s not headed to Bondi, then we’d love to know why they chased him in the first place and then went cold on the idea.

Perhaps the November 1 free agency deadline will give us some answers.

Not that I am a fan of that ridiculous system, where clubs can officially table bids for players coming off contract in a year’s time.

I hate that it’s late October 2025 and we’re discussing where players might be playing in March 2027.

The grand final hangovers hadn’t even cleared at Brisbane before there was talk of where some of their star players – headlined by Payne Haas – would be playing in two years’ time as the November 1 deadline approaches.

Days out from an historic Ashes Test against England and the papers are full of talk about where Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Cameron Munster will land the year after next.

Give me a break.

What other code would allow such a ludicrous set-up?

What happened to the days when players signed a contract with the one club and stayed until the end?

Or a club honoured a contract and stuck with the player through the good and the bad?

Nowadays they come and go like strangers in the night, briefly hooking up before going their separate ways.

Last week we found out young Melbourne half Jonah Pezet plans to park himself at Parramatta next year before taking up a long-term deal with the Broncos in ‘27.

If it happens, Pezet will play for three different clubs in as many years.

No wonder many young fans prefer to follow players rather than teams these days.

Who can blame them when there is so much player movement.

I don’t pretend to have the answer to the problem, but I do like soccer’s transfer system, where at certain times of the year there is a window open for clubs to do business with players.

It’s not seamless but it’s a whole lot better than the mess we have now.

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED

I said before the Ashes started that I was worried about England’s ability to compete against Australia and the first Test only confirmed my fears.

The Kangaroos were well below their best but still cruised to a comfortable win on the back of some Reece Walsh magic.

I was at Wembley and could feel the air being sucked of the Pommy fans with every Australian try.

They’d been led to believe the men in white were capable of challenging the Roos, but the reality was a whole lot different.

England coach Shaun Wane labelled the performance “poor” and I’d rate it somewhere between ordinary and pathetic.

I knew they were in trouble when I watched them laughing as they dropped ball after ball in the warm-up.

If the Poms couldn’t get themselves up for this one, I shudder to think what awaits them in Liverpool and Leeds over the next two Tests.

The Australians were understandably rusty and will be better for the run while I don’t see England improving much at all.

They are staring at a heavy 3-0 series loss.

Soccer is, of course, king over here and their rugby is in pretty rude health as well, at least on the international front.

In stark contrast, Super League is treading water and struggling for relevance and popularity.

If the national team is walloped three weeks in a row, it will only further damage the game in England and cast doubts over the Ashes’ ongoing viability.