http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/da...-stars-signature/story-fndujljl-1227250009061
Daly Cherry-Evans could be days away from signing with Titans, but Sharks circling for star’s signature
Toovey says Manly's door is still open for Daly Cherry-Evans
DALY Cherry-Evans could be days away from signing a $3 million deal with the Titans after Manly hierarchy warned there is no guarantee they will resume talks with the Maroons ace.
The Cherry-Evans affair took another twist on Thursday night with Cronulla ready to trump the Titans by increasing their offer to $1.1m a season to prise him from Brookvale.
But Gold Coast remain in the hunt, with Cherry-Evans’ wife, Vessa, understood to have contacted partners of Titans players to discuss housing options on the holiday strip.
Either way, there is turbulence at Manly. Sea Eagles CEO Joe Kelly on Thursday night defended suggestions the club is guilty of double standards for imposing a deadline on Cherry-Evans while giving their other off-contract star, Kieran Foran, time to decide his future.
On the eve of Manly’s season-opener against Parramatta tonight, Kelly detailed exact reasons for the club’s shock decision to pull their $2.55 million offer to Cherry-Evans.
Kelly told The Courier-Mail Manly may potentially resume talks “down the track”, but by then Cherry-Evans could end the three-month saga himself by signing with the Titans or Cronulla.
It is understood Cherry-Evans will make a call over the weekend after Friday night’s clash at Pirtek Stadium. And with no offer from Manly currently on the table, the Titans are the front-runners to pull off the biggest signing in the club’s eventful eight-year history.
The 26-year-old’s future at Manly appears untenable. Privately, Sea Eagles identities are seething at Cherry-Evans’ public negotiations and Kelly said Manly had to act, claiming club bosses even increased their offer to placate him.
“It wasn’t the way we wanted to see it play out,” Kelly said.
“It is unfortunate and disappointing these private negotiations have been made public, including this situation (Cherry-Evans’ Manly deal being withdrawn).
“In the case of Daly’s offer, it has been sitting there for six weeks now. We revised and upgraded that figure and still we’ve been waiting and waiting.
“The negotiation with Daly has become protracted and very public, and we saw no resolution in sight. We placed a deadline of midday last Monday, but that date had passed and there was no response within 24 hours after that.
“In my correspondence (to Cherry-Evans’ management), I’ve said once the team is into the rhythm of the season, there may be an opportunity to start fresh discussions.
“We have a huge game (tonight), it’s time to put the team first and focus solely on our preparations.”
Foran is tipped to join Parramatta, a scenario that could see Manly decimated by the loss of both their Test halves, but Kelly defended the move to impose a timeframe on Cherry-Evans.
“This is a different situation (to Foran’s),” he said.
“The contract discussions and where we’re at with Daly are totally different, I’m not going to elaborate on the other one (Foran
“We have put two equal offers to them and we believe they are competitive offers in the marketplace.
“Kieran hasn’t announced anything. We want to move away from talking contracts and focus on football, this has been a distraction we didn’t create and our intentions were to remove such distractions.”
Kelly accepts the Sea Eagles face a major threat from the Titans, whose club record $1m-a-season deal is the most lucrative offer for Cherry-Evans.
“I’ve heard of the reported offer from the Titans but we believe we have put a good offer to Daly,” he said.
“There is going to be other interest for a player of his quality. I’m aware of him meeting other clubs so the Titans would be in the picture, but they may not be the only other club.”
