‘I don’t subscribe to any of those words about DCE’: Teammates rally around veteran, season over for Reuben Garrick

Sea Eagles centre Reuben Garrick has dismissed suggestions that Father Time has finally caught up to teammate Daly Cherry-Evans, while he also confirmed his season was over after suffering a shoulder injury on the weekend.

Manly’s finals hopes are all but over after a “demoralising” loss to the Wests Tigers on Sunday that leaves them four points outside the top eight with three rounds remaining.

Their attack was abysmal and has led to fears that Cherry-Evans could retire at the end of the season rather than link up with the Roosters in 2026 as has been widely speculated.

The former Maroons halfback hasn’t been at his attacking best since being dropped from the Queensland side, but at 36, Cherry-Evans still has what it takes to play on, according to Garrick.

“He’s still a world-class halfback and someone that I’d choose in my side every week. Then there are other things that he does off the field that he brings to the team like leadership and camaraderie,” he said.

“I don’t subscribe to any of those words about DCE getting too old or Father Time catching up.”

The Sea Eagles face the Dolphins, Dragons and Warriors in their remaining matches, with Saturday’s clash to be Cherry-Evans’ 350th for the club.

The milestone should be enough to fire them up, although the players have enough motivation after some scathing criticism from Cooper Cronk and others that suggested they threw in the towel against the Tigers.

“When there’s a little bit of hope, you’ve got to hold onto it as much as you can,” Garrick said.

“It’s a massive game this weekend with Chez’s 350th and I’m disappointed I won’t be out there with him because he’s been so instrumental for my career. He’s a true captain of the club and a true leader, so hopefully we can get the win for him.

“You take a lot of pride putting that jersey on each week, so it’s hurtful hearing some of those words, but at the same time, we haven’t been performing well enough and it’s a results-driven industry.

“We have to get the wins when it’s needed, and we haven’t done that. But I definitely don’t think we’ve thrown the towel in at all.

“We need to be better, and this weekend’s a great chance to do that.”

Garrick won’t be there to help them for their finals push, with the point-scoring machine to miss the rest of the season after his left shoulder was trapped awkwardly in a tackle on Sunday.

“I’m going to try to rehab the shoulder and we’ll see how we go, but I won’t be playing,” he said, with Garrick not wearing a sling at the launch of the Telstra Footy Country Round at East Hills in Sydney.

“I don’t know the terminology of it all, but it’s an injury you try to rehab when you sublux your shoulder. A few ligaments are torn, but I don’t know the terminology (for the injury). It’s painful.

“It sucks because you put so much into it throughout the season and by showing up each week and giving it your all.

“It sucks having an injury right at the death when the stakes are so high for us, so it hurts, but that’s footy and you’ve got to roll with the punches. I’ll be back bigger and stronger in 2026.”