‘Magic moment’: DCE’s chaotic Brookvale farewell ends with tight Sea Eagles victory

Manly have sent club legend Daly Cherry-Evans out of Brookvale in style, the Sea Eagles’ most capped player saying goodbye after 15 years with the club.

Playing in his 352nd match in the maroon and white, Cherry-Evans received a standing ovation from the sold out 4 Pines Park crowd when he led the Sea Eagles onto the field and the celebrations were set to continue long into the night.

Fittingly, Cherry-Evans booted the match sealing field goal with four minutes left on the clock – the 29th of his illustrious career.

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MATCH CENTRE: Sea Eagles vs Warriors teams, scores, videos, updates

Entering the game still a mathematical chance of making the finals, Manly needed to win over the Warriors and win big, while hoping both the Roosters and Dolphins would lose. It was a big ask and while they got home 27-26, it won’t be enough to be part of next week’s action.

The Warriors knew they had no chance of making the top four after Brisbane’s win last night but at times played as though they were in contention for the wooden spoon, not the finals.

Despite the end result, it was an ignominious start for Manly. The Warriors kicked off and Cherry-Evans, moving forwards to take the ball, misjudged the trajectory, letting it bounce past him towards the goal line before Jason Saab slipped trying to make amends, leaving James Fisher-Harris pounce and score after just nine seconds – the fastest try in NRL history.

Three minutes later the Manly skipper produced a massive 40/20 and Lehi Hopoate scored from the ensuing set. Jake Simpkin burst through some feeble goal line defence five minutes later to give Manly the lead before Hopoate grabbed a second.

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak scored for the Warriors five minutes shy of halftime and at the break it was 14-10.

A piece of Luke Brooks brilliance two minutes into the second period got the scoreboard ticking again. Brooks split the defence 35 metres out and then ran around Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to score.

Tries followed to Ethan Bullemor for Manly and Nicoll-Klokstad, Sam Healy and Watene-Zelezniak for the Warriors, but the game never reached any real heights to match the sense of occasion for Cherry-Evans.

Manly finished the game with just 11 players after both Tom Trbojevic and Jazz Tevaga were sin binned for separate professional foul incidents.

Sliding doors

While 36-year-old Cherry-Evans was signing off, prodigious teenager Joey Walsh made his debut off the bench for Manly, giving Sea Eagles fans a glimpse into the future.

Walsh, who attended school across the road from Brookvale Oval at St Augustine’s College and was born and bred on the Northern Beaches, came into the action with 19 minutes remaining and played in the halves on Manly’s left side.

“This time last year he is taking vegemite sandwiches to school, now he’s playing at 4 Pines Park,” Andrew Voss said.

“It’s symbolic, the passing of the baton. He plays alongside Daly Cherry-Evans… a magic moment.”

He did miss a tackle on Watene-Zelezniak but otherwise acquitted himself well.

Down the Wahs

The Warriors saw their grip on the top four slip away last week, upset at home by Parramatta and things only got worse tonight.

Andrew Webster’s side have now lost five of their last seven and will finish sixth, with a home final against either Penrith or the Roosters looming next week.

In years past, that home ground advantage would have been massive, but this season the Wahs are only 5-5 in Auckland.

To make matters worse they lost Rocco Berry and Eddie Ieremia-Toeava to shoulder injuries, while hooker Healy, who was one of their best, was put on report for a dangerous tackle.

Busted Berry

Berry’s season from hell continued, the Warriors’ centre suffering his second dislocated shoulder in two months when desperately trying to stop Hopoate’s first try.

Warriors medical staff were unable to put the shoulder back into place and Berry was taken to hospital.

It was just Berry’s ninth appearance of 2025 after starting his campaign rehabilitating a shoulder injury that ended his season early last year. In March he hurt a hamstring and then in July had his first shoulder dislocation.

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