Next up on the platform is Daly Cherry-Evans, tonight he will be attempting a backflip with a high degree of difficulty. The crowd is hushed in anticipation; can Cherry-Evans pull it off?

Stop!

Don’t jump Daly!

The difficulty is just not worth it.

On Thursday evening, Nine News broke the story that Cherry-Evans was on the verge of turning his back on a huge multi-million dollar contract with the Gold Coast Titans to stay with the under siege Sea Eagles. All this after a drawn-out, energy sapping negotiation that ended with Cherry-Evans telling his Manly team-mates off his move minutes after their first round hammering at the hands of the Parramatta Eels.

The lead up felt like an eternity and the whole process had tainted DCE’s reputation.

Source: Reuben Dugan

As one Manly fan put it on social media, they’d “made their peace” with the halfback’s decision to defect.

Then, last night, boom!

The report suggests Cherry-Evans has had unofficial talks with Manly CEO Joe Kelly.

Cherry-Evans and Gold Coast skipper Nate Myles are good mates so the current chatter that Myles is leaving the Titans may be clouding the playmaker’s judgment?

Perhaps the rumours Manly coach Geoff Toovey is about to be punted from Brookvale now means he wants to stay?

Sorry but it just isn’t good enough.

Daly Cherry-Evans has made his $5million bed and now he has to lay in it. This is where the Daly we knew, the well-mannered, honest, respecting Daly stands up and honours his contract. Surely even he can see how much of a circus this has become?

“I’d expect that when players agree to clubs and they go through a process and they make a very considered decision, that they stick to their decision,” Gold Coast coach Neil Henry said at a press conference on Friday.

“That’s what I’d expect in this situation.”

Earlier, the Titans released a statement quoting CEO Graham Annesley.

“I have spoken directly with Gavin Orr and Chris Orr of Pacific Sports Management,” Annesley said.

“I have been assured that any suggestion Daly Cherry-Evans will not be honouring his contract with the Titans is untrue.”

There is truth to every story in rugby league but how much truth is in this Cherry-Evans is still to be played out.

It’s time for this thing to be knocked on the head for good and it has to be done by DCE himself.

Not the Manly CEO, not his manager and not the Titans who have already lost star five-eight Aidan Sezer to Canberra.

This is Cherry-Evans’ responsibility and his alone.