Any doubt about Daly Cherry-Evans being booed by Manly fans was quickly swept away when he was cheered onto Brookvale before their win over Parramatta.
And the departing skipper had another bombshell to drop on the club after the game when he claimed he had been the victim of a smear campaign due to some of the claims being made against him since he announced this season would be his last at the club.
It was an eventful afternoon for the Sea Eagles with Tom Trbojevic limping off with a knee injury halfway through the 26-12 win which will keep him out for at least a month.
In the later game, Warriors fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad stayed down late in proceedings after Alex Seyfarth’s shoulder made accidental high contact with his head and the ensuing penalty goal was enough to lift the visitors to a controversial 26-24 win over the Tigers at Campbelltown.
1. DCE: ‘It got a bit nasty, a bit ugly’
He’s turned his back on the suits in the front office but Daly Cherry-Evans is still in the good books with the maroon and white fans on the Brookvale hill.
Amid fears he would be booed by the diehards in his first appearance since announcing he was leaving at the end of the year, DCE was grinning from ear to ear as he ran out onto the field to a reception of cheers, not jeers.
And from there it was business as usual with the veteran halfback doing what he has done for the club since 2011 – milking an early ruck penalty, setting up a try for Jason Saab and directing his team around the park like a consummate pro.
The kind of player who is worth much more than $700,000 a year even if he is in the twilight of his career.
If the Manly execs don’t think he’s worth that much or they haven’t allowed enough money in their salary to re-sign him then they should be booed for their massive boo-boo.
“I know who it’s coming from and it’s not appropriate to talk about it,” Cherry-Evans said later at the post-match press conference.
“There was a fair bit spoken after the announcement was made on Monday night.
“I feel like it could have ended pretty quickly early in the week, but it obviously didn’t.
“Which means conversations were continuing to happen outside of the ones happening between the club and I.
“That’s where I felt like it got a bit nasty and a bit ugly.
“You guys [in the media] obviously know where it’s coming from as well, but I’m old enough and big enough to handle it.”
Daly Cherry-Evans. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
2. Turbo hobbled again but Eagles flying
After Saab struck early and Tolu Koula also made a mockery of the defence early, Eels fans were sensing a familiar dose of deja vu with their team down 10-0 after 16 minutes.
But the Eels at least refused to lie down this time around and Manly’s frustration grew to the point that they banged over a couple of penalty goals either side of half-time to ensure they extended their lead rather than going for the try.
Joe Ofahengaue received what looked like a present from the Bunker in his 200th NRL appearance when it was ruled he got the ball down despite plenty of evidence to the contrary.
But after coming off best in a head clash, a bloodied and bandaged Manly forward Corey Waddell bathed over to make it 20-6 with 15 minutes left to ensure a third win from four starts for Anthony Seibold’s side.
Koula crossed for a second before Shaun Lane recovered from a falcon-induced HIA to score on the siren.
Trbojevic appeared to injure his knee midway through the first half but soldiered on until the break before he was replaced. The early diagnosis is MCL damage with 4-6 weeks on the sidelines.
3. Eels’ season slip-sliding away
Parramatta have two chances of dodging the wooden spoon – slim and none.
Well, not quite.
They are deserved favourites with the bookmakers and their dwindling hope of avoiding the NRL’s most unwanted trophy rests on the impending return of Mitchell Moses and the Dolphins’ dire start to the year.
With the Dragons and Cowboys breaking their duck in Round 4, Parra and Redcliffe are the only teams yet to open their account.
Moses is likely around two or three weeks away from returning and he can’t come back soon enough.
Dean Hawkins and Newcastle’s high-priced recruit Dylan Brown were careless with their kicks, coughing up seven-tackle sets by booting the ball dead.
“That is so poor. Totally let their forwards down,” Immortal halfback Andrew Johns said on Nine commentary after Brown sent a kick over the dead-ball line early in the second half, adding that his punishment should be to go defend in the middle of the ruck with his forwards after letting them down.
4. CNK penalty proves decisive
Sunday night’s Campbelltown clash looked like it would be the first extra time match of the season with the scores locked at 24-24 after both sides held leads they threw away.
Nicoll-Klokstad was working the ball into field goal territory when he slid into a three-man tackle and Seyfarth’s shoulder did make contact with his head as he went earthward.
Only he knows if he was genuinely injured but the trend in the modern game is for players to take dive when they know there has been high contact and with the game on the line, it turned out in his team’s favour whether it was gamesmanship or be was actually unable to play the ball.
There was no intent by Seyfarth to harm CNK as he wrapped him up while backpedalling after making the previous tackle but after the Bunker reviewed the incident, referee Wyatt Raymond penalised him and placed him on report.
Warriors half Luke Metcalf stepped up to ice the kick from 40 metres out to lift his team to a 3-1 record in a logjam of seven teams on six competition points behind undefeated pacesetters Canterbury after four rounds.
5. Tigers shoot themselves in the foot
Wests have made great gains this season with their decision making under pressure but they drifted in and out of this game and when they could have closed it out, they kept leaving the door open for the Warriors.
After Adam Pompey and Fonua Pole traded early tries, the Warriors went 12-6 up via Marata Niukore before Starford To’a streaked over from long range to tie the scores up at the break.
Metcalf made it 18-12 a minute into the second half before the Tigers raced in two tries in quick succession to Solomona Faataape and Latu Fainu, and should have had a third but botched it when the lead runner took out a Warriors defender.
Warriors rookie Leka Halasima danced down the right touchline, and celebrated before the line when he should have been improving the position for Metcalf’s conversion to hit back with 10 minutes left.
Luckily for him, Metcalf came through in the clutch with both the conversion from out wide and the long-range penalty to boot them home.
After their comeback win over the Dolphins, this was one that they should have won in similar circumstances but the Tigers panicked and when they fell behind with eight minutes on the clock, played every set like it was the last play of the game.
The Kick: Lomax centre of unwanted attention
Zac Lomax would be one of the first wingers picked if all the NRL players were lined up schoolyard style with captains choosing their teams.
And he would be one of the last centres selected.
The evidence is impossible to ignore – if he’s positioned one in from the flank, he is too reckless with his passing and a liability in defence.
But when he’s on the wing, his size and speed is an asset, particularly when chasing or defending the high ball. It was apparent last year when Shane Flanagan put him on the wing, projecting hin to a career-best season and his first NSW and Australian jerseys.
At Brookvale on Sunday he butchered what could have been an early Eels try with a low-risk hot potato pass which sailed a couple of metres in front of his winger.
And up the other end of the field, he presented a try on a platter to Manly when he rushed out of the line to frantically nearly tackle three but ultimately stop no one as his opposing centre Tolu Koula touched down.
With momentum on his team’s side in the second half and the gap at eight, he took the air out of their tyres via another rushed catch and pass which dribbled over the sideline and a few minutes later Manly sealed their win with a try up the other end.