Detail in Daly Cherry-Evans' Roosters deal could sabotage succession plan as young gun weighs future
Updated . First published
The NRL's worst kept secret has finally been confirmed with the Sydney Roosters officially signing Daly Cherry-Evans on a deal reportedly worth $500,000 for 2026.
The contract also contains an option in the halfback's favour, leaving him with a decision to make on whether or not he continues his career in 2027, when he'll be 38.
Cherry-Evans' signing finally brings a close to a messy chapter of the superstar's career after he made the curious call early in the 2025 season to announce on Nine's 100% Footy that he would not be continuing with Manly, while leaving the door open to continue his career in the NRL.
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It has been widely speculated that Cherry-Evans had an agreement in place at the time to join the Roosters, but neither he nor the club confirmed it. Finally, the news that is barely even news, such was the certainty that he was joining the Roosters, has moved from speculation to confirmation.
Daly Cherry-Evans after his 350th NRL game for Manly. NRL Photos
"Daly's experience and understanding of the game will be a strong addition to our group and we're excited to welcome him to the Roosters. I'm looking forward to working with him," coach Trent Robinson said.
Cherry-Evans' signing is a signal that the Roosters believe they are in a premiership window but felt they needed a touch more class and experience in the spine to get over the hump.
His looming arrival led to the departure of 22-year-old Sandon Smith, who was impressive at times while Sam Walker was sidelined in the first half of 2025, with his man of the match performance on Anzac Day proving that he had the mettle to handle the big stage.
Smith has been sacrificed and will resume his burgeoning career in Newcastle, while question marks also hang over Hugo Savala, a 23-year-old local junior who finished the season impressively alongside Walker as the Roosters became one of the hottest teams in the competition in the run to September.
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Hugo Savala and Sandon Smith of the Roosters celebrate a round 26 win over the Storm. Getty
Savala is contracted with the Roosters for next season but this month became a free agent and can sign with rivals for 2027. The fact that Cherry-Evans has an option to continue playing beyond next season could potentially sabotage their succession plan if Savala decides that he doesn't want to risk waiting until 2028 to be a regular starter in the halves.
No doubt Robinson and club chairman Nick Politis are confident the arrival of Cherry-Evans won't upset the applecart but even at a well run club like the Roosters, the best-laid plans don't always come to fruition.
Savala's future isn't the only lingering question that hangs over the Roosters' decision to enact a Cooper Cronk-like plan for the second time by luring an ageing but accomplished halfback to the east.
When Cronk arrived in 2018 it was straight off the back of a grand final win with the Storm and he was bringing with him not just his own personal talent and experience but the lessons of playing in the NRL's best system for more than a decade.
Cooper Cronk gives the thumbs up to Roosters supporters after the 2018 preliminary final. Getty
Cherry-Evans, meanwhile, arrives in Bondi off the back of a messy season with a club in disarray - a club that hasn't gone close to winning a premiership since he won the Clive Churchill Medal in a losing grand final against the Roosters way back in 2013.
Now 36, Cherry-Evans' form was lacklustre for much of a 2025 season in which he was axed from the Queensland side he was captain of and had some Sea Eagles fans calling for him to be dumped for teenager Joey Walsh as they dipped out of the top eight.
That's not to say a player with his champion qualities can't turn it around and be the icing on the cake of a premiership team next year - but there's plenty of reasons to believe it could also go horribly wrong.
The worst case scenario? Cherry-Evans' form continues to slide, the Roosters struggle in the first half of the 2026 season and Savala signs with a rival before the whole experiment can be brought to a halt.
Waiting in the wings is another talented young half, Toby Rodwell, who is signed up until the end of the 2028 season and who could very well end up being the long-term foil for $1 million man Walker, who is off contract again at the end of next season.
Toby Rodwell NSWRL
But do the Roosters really want to put all their eggs in that basket, given he's still just 19 and first Smith, then Savala have shown enough to suggest they could make it as long-term NRL halfbacks.
It's a lot to gamble for a crack at one last premiership while James Tedesco is still at the peak of his powers, and even though it's Politis and Robinson pulling the strings, the supporters' frustrations will likely be taken out on the players if the it doesn't go to plan.
Cherry-Evans has felt the uncomfortable heat of his own fan base turning on him before. That will go up a level if his signing brings the Chooks undone.
