Manly Sea Eagles want halves pairing re-signed before 2015 season kick-off
Jon Geddes
January 09, 2015 12:00AM
SEA Eagles chief executive Joe Kelly wants to have the futures of star halves Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans finalised by the kick-off of the NRL season at the beginning of March.
And while he is a realist, the new Manly boss remains optimistic that the club will be able to re-sign the dynamic duo past 2015.
Both players come off contract at the end of this year and have become the hottest properties in the game.
Speculation about their futures started midway through last season and continued ever since.
The club clearly wants to avoid a repeat of the situation last year when talk about where Glenn Stewart and Anthony Watmough would end up became a long running soap opera and took away from the team’s on-field performances.
“There is no news in Daly and Cherry just yet,” Kelly said.
“Both managers are away at the moment but that dialogue will start again next week.
“We have always said that our time frames are by season’s commencement we’d like to have the players locked down.
“We don’t want any distractions to our football.
“We literally want to focus on that and really know what direction we are heading in by the start of the season.”
The Broncos, Warriors, Bulldogs, Eels, Roosters and Titans are among the potential suitors who have been mentioned in dispatches for the dynamic duo.
“I am positive, I am optimistic and at the same time realistic,” Kelly said.
“They are top class players, they are marque players in the game and there is obviously going to be interest from other clubs.
“But we are very hopeful of retaining both of them.
“We do see that they are key to our success going forward and building a team around the two of them.”
Before Christmas Foran said he was aware the sooner he can get his future sorted out the better for everyone.
“I don’t want it being dragged on all through the season and ending up becoming a circus,” he said.
For an and Cherry-Evans returned to training with the rest of the Sea Eagles squad on Monday and, not surprisingly, both impressed.
“They looked really good, we had some fitness tests and they were right up near the top of that,” said coach Geoff Toovey.
