‘It seems that way': Everyone assumes Daly Cherry-Evans will be at the Roosters next year, but nothing is official ahead of Saturday's clash
His bombshell announcement earlier in the year that he would leave Manly caught everyone off guard, but we're still waiting for confirmation that he will join the Roosters next season.
It seemed a fait accompli at the time that he would join them, with speculation he'd announce the move after the State of Origin series.
That's come and gone, with reports now that nothing will be confirmed until both Manly and the Roosters have finished up their playing commitments.
'It seems that way (that he's going there), but I haven't heard that from 'Chez'. But that's the way it seems to be going,' long-time teammate Jake Trbojevic said.
'I suppose people out there know and they always seem to be right.
'We know Chez and what he does for Manly. He is passionate for Manly and goes out and puts his best foot forward no matter what.
'And if he is going there I am sure he would want to go out there and want to impress them, so hopefully that works for us and he puts in a great performance and we go out and play really well.
'It is what it is, he has chosen to move on. We can't control that, he has a right to do that and he's been great for Manly. We can't begrudge him in any way, with the service he has given to the club he has a right to do what he wants.
'It's not about him, it's not about us, it's about the club. We've got to go out there and play well for Manly and we're there or thereabouts.
'It hasn't been the best season, hasn't been the worst. We would love to finish it off strongly regardless of who is there next year or what is going on.'
The club has always insisted that the move hasn't been a distraction this year, although that doesn't mean that players saw it coming.
'He obviously let us know he wasn't going to be at Manly next year, which was a shock. I think it was a bit of shock for everyone to hear,' Tom Trbojevic said.
'He's told the playing group he will make his decision in due course. Obviously, there are a lot of reports around it which we can't help.
'He has done a lot for this club, and he is a friend as well, so I respect his decision to do that and he has earned the right to make a decision when he feels ready to.'
Roosters skipper James Tedesco praised Cherry-Evans for how he'd handled the situation this year but played down the notion that his impending arrival had affected the club at all.
Cherry-Evans will partner Sam Walker in the halves and will be a great mentor for Hugo Savala, but it potentially leaves Sandon Smith on the outer, while veteran playmaker Chad Townsend won't be at the Roosters after announcing his retirement.
'There was a lot of talk at the start of the year about us and Cherry and him not staying at the club, but since then there hasn't really been much said,' Tedesco said.
'Us as a team, we haven't really talked about it. Early on you probably wanted to talk about it with the young halves to make sure they're feeling good and they're not too concerned or worried about what could potentially happen.
'But Cherry has been around the game for a long time now and played a lot of games and has been through all the ups and downs, so he knows how to handle these situations.'
The contract intrigue is a great narrative but it pales in comparison to the finals race between two teams separated by just two competition points, with the loser facing a monumental battle to make the top eight.
'If you look too far ahead and try and work out what games you need to win and can lose, you probably lose place of where you are,' Tom Trbojevic said.
'The reality is we're sitting 9-9 and we probably need to win more than we lose now and we'll be a chance. I know they sit around us and it adds that little bit of extra importance.
'You don't want to say it's must win, but it's an important game for us.'
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