Kieran Foran set to play five-eighth in Manly return, contrary to hooker reports

Kieran Foran looks set to play five-eighth in his Manly return, contrary to previous reports of a move to hooker.

Foran, a 2011 Manly premiership winner alongside halfback and current captain Daly Cherry-Evans, is back at the Sea Eagles after a torrid run with injuries at the Eels, Warriors and Bulldogs.

He remains a gun player when fit but there were reports that he would play out of position at Manly due to the presence of Josh Schuster and Dylan Walker.

Yet Cherry-Evans suggested in a Sun-Herald interview that Foran, 30, would be his halves partner again after five seasons apart.

"I'm definitely looking forward to playing alongside Foz, purely for the experience he brings," Cherry-Evans said.

"It will naturally free me up to play a different role. I won't reinvent the wheel with the way I play, but when you play with a dominant half, such as Munster in Origin, it brought out a different side in my game and hopefully that happens alongside Kieran.

"Last year I fell into the trap of trying to control too much. That Origin series, I felt I didn't have to do that. Wherever the ball went was the right way to go, and that's the mentality I have with Kieran being here."

Cherry-Evans and Foran have completed several weeks of pre-season training together and said that there combination was rekindling nicely.

It remains to be seen what impact Foran's apparent return to the No.6 jumper has on Manly's roster.

Schuster, 19, is a rising superstar who wanted to start at five-eighth after debuting in the NRL last season and may be disgruntled; his agent threatened to demand a release when the Foran signing loomed last year. Walker is also a strong No.6 option but could easily return to the centres.