Anthony Seibold refused to be drawn on suggestions that Daly Cherry-Evans’ bombshell announcement that he wanted to leave the footy club at the end of the season was having an impact on the the rest of the team’s performances.
It came after the Sea Eagles were swept away by Melbourne Storm at the Brookvale Oval, with last year’s minor premiers sealing a dominant 48-24.
Away from the footy pitch, Cherry-Evans’ contract saga has been the talking point of the NRL.
Last week, he had clapped back at criticism of his Manly exit by cryptically branding the criticism a ‘smear campaign’.
But after Sunday’s defeat, Seibold was pressed on whether the furore around the 36-year-old’s contract negotiations had impacted the rest of the team.
‘I’ll answer, we’ve had two really good preparations,’ Seibold said.
Daly Cherry-Evans’ (pictured with partner Vessa) contract saga continues to rumble on
Manly Sea Eagles head coach Anthony Seibold appeared to deny claims that his side’s poor performance against Melbourne was related to specualtion around Cherry-Evans’ future
Seibold (pictured right alongside Cherry-Evans) stated that his side were ‘outplayed’ by Storm
‘I thought we played really well against Parramatta last week. You saw what they did to the Dragons yesterday, who beat the Storm the week before.
‘It’s a really tough competition, but I felt as though we had a really good preparation. We trained really well on Thursday, but sometimes you’re outplayed. Sometimes teams are better on the day than you are and that’s what I felt like today.’
Last year’s Dally M medallist Jahrome Hughes returned from an injury lay-off to tee up three tries in Storm’s big victory on Sunday.
Cherry-Evans had a reasonably quiet game compared to his opposite number.
‘I think the game was won probably in two blocks,’ Seibold added.
‘I think they scored three tries in consecutive sets in the first half and then three tries in consecutive sets in the second half.
‘Inside of those six sets we either gave them field position through a penalty or fundamentals and they’re a very good side, so they made us pay.
‘It’s disappointing because I have got higher expectations than what we showed today.’
Cherry-Evans (centre) had claimed last week that he had been the subject of a ‘smear campaign’ by his club
It came after last week’s victory against Parramatta in which the veteran halfback was cheered, not booed, by fans at the Brookvale Oval
After last week’s game against the Eels Cherry-Evans had claimed that he had been the victim of a ‘smear campaign’ – six days after he announced his bombshell exit.
‘We’ll find out if I sign another deal. If it’s not for more money, that might be a telling sign of where this all lays,’ Cherry-Evans said.
‘There’s obviously been a really big narrative pushed in the media that it was all about a two-year deal, and the money wasn’t enough. Only time will tell if that is true or not.’
But The Sydney Morning Herald writes that Manly do not want the emails relating to Cherry-Evans’ contract negotiations to be leaked.
The outlet believes that the leaks could ‘expose the basis for the smear campaign’ which the 36-year-old has spoken about.
‘I have seen the emails, and we put forward a firm number in November last year, so to suggest we didn’t is wrong,’ Sea Eagles owner Scott Penn told the outlet. ‘They just wanted more.’
Cherry-Evans’ camp had disputed that, claiming that no offer was formally made by the club.
‘I don’t want to go into the specifics of the negotiations,’ Penn said. ‘We definitely put forward a strong offer, and they were clear they wanted more. We are not able to get to the number they are seeking, therefore respect their decision to go to market.’
On Sunday, Jahrome Hughes (pictured) starred for the Storm, setting up three tries from halfback
Storm have lost just once this season – their opening round loss by the Warriors. They trail Canterbury at the top of the ladder by two points
Cherry-Evans, meanwhile, did not answer questions relating to the situation surrounding his contract.
‘I think Siebs summed it up pretty well, mate,’ the veteran halfback said.
‘There’s a lot to our game that we have to go and own and review and ultimately when you don’t execute, you don’t win the physical battle and you play a benchmark side, you get 40 points put on you.
‘So, really disappointing day overall, especially where we played today. We’d like to have a bit more pride in our performance, but we were off and they were fantastic, and that’s footy, you don’t get the result.’
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