I feel sick in the stomach.

I feel sorry for the Gold Coast Titans, their Chief Executive Graham Annesley, their coach Neil Henry and their fans. Scratch that, not even Gold Coast fans. All NRL fans.

Daly Cherry-Evans has officially reneged on his huge Titans deal to stay at the Sea Eagles and in the process basically burn any last remnants of respect he had with the rugby league public.

We all know the rules and that includes Cherry-Evans’ manager and DCE who have played this ingeniously.

When Cherry-Evans signed that whopping contract with the Titans, he hurt Manly fans. Now he has backtracked (legally) and will stay with Manly, hurting everyone else.

This whole process is beyond annoying, Daly Cherry-Evans has become annoying.

“It is with great pleasure and humility I can confirm I will be continuing my stay with the Sea Eagles,” Cherry-Evans said today.

“This gives me an opportunity to become a one club player which is something I have always dreamed of since I arrived as an 18-year-old.

“I like to thank the Manly Warringah Members and supporters for all their support. I hope they are just as pleased with this decision as I am.”

Sorry mate but we aren’t buying it and it doesn’t matter how much you had to do with the way it unraveled or not.

This whole saga is going to linger with Cherry-Evans for the rest of his footballing life.

“Today is a wonderful and historic moment for the Sea Eagles, our sponsors, members and supporters,” Manly CEO Joe Kelly said.

“Daly is one of the best halves in the game and has a long-term representative career in front of him at both State and National level.”

So how many people has this debacle affected?

Thousands of Titans and Manly supporters, players like Aidan Sezer, Nate Myles, Kane Elgey and others, player managers, Henry, Geoff Toovey, Kieran Foran, Annesley and more.

And what about Toovey?

What about the players at the Sea Eagles who will now be squeezed out over the coming years due to DCE signing for life?

Don’t forget Glenn Stewart and Anthony Watmough.

There is a smugness from player and manager here that none of us will forget in a hurry.

Thank god the round 13 rule is being abolished.

Cherry-Evans said it best on Wednesday.

“[The Titans] have a right to be angry but I know it’s something I can live with knowing I’ve done the best thing for me,” he said.

“I’ve gone through a lot of pain through this but I know it’s all beneficial for me and my family in the long-term outcome.”

Stop rubbing it on our faces.

“The manager called me at 10.40 but I’d had a few calls from various media outlets by then,” Titans CEO Annesley said of the news.

“The impact has been significant because he’s such a marquee player the recruitment strategy was built around it.”

This isn’t a long road back for Cherry-Evans, it’s a 50,000 kilometre highway, there and back.

In the long-term he doesn’t have to worry about his image or what the public think of him because he knows that people eventually forgive.

But this has sucked the life out of all of us and at the end of the day, in his own words, “it’s something I can live with knowing I’ve done the best thing for me.”

As long as Daly is able to live with it.