When Roosters fans tune into Fox League on Saturday night, they’ll be faced with a sight they’ll have to get familiar with – Sam Walker and Daly Cherry-Evans sharing the same field.
While it’s not official, Cherry-Evans will be a Rooster next season where he’ll be partnered alongside the talented Walker.
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Walker currently wears the Roosters’ No. 7 but is expected to move into five-eighth to placate the arrival of Cherry-Evans.
Given Cherry-Evans’ form this season hasn’t been too flash hot, there are no doubts there are at least a smattering of Roosters fans who aren’t yet on board with the veteran joining their club.
They’re going to have to get used to it, because the Roosters are already preparing for DCE’s arrival as Fox League’s James Hooper noted.
“You look at the Roosters already since Sam’s return, he’s switched to the left hand side of the field. Now throughout his entire career, he’s predominantly been a right sided player so that just shows you they’re already preparing for Daly’s arrival,” Hooper said on NRL360.
In terms of the top eight race, it’s a must-win clash for both the Roosters and Sea Eagles when they face off this weekend.
The main subplot is the battle of the sevens, with NRL360 host Braith Anasta wondering what the mindset of Walker and Cherry-Evans will be when they step onto Brookvale Oval.
“DCE playing against the team he’s going to next year. Does it put more pressure on DCE? Does Sam Walker think, ‘you know what, I want to man up. I want to be the chief next’,” Anasta said.
Anasta went onto say that he thinks the Cherry-Evans/Walker dynamic can work next year, pointing out the reasons why the Roosters have signed the veteran half.
“I think DCE is more experienced, more controlled and more composed. Sam has so much firepower and can create opportunities left, right and centre but he’s still got that error in him and I think with game management he’s still got a bit to learn,” Anasta said.
“Whereas that’s why they’re getting DCE to have that control, composure, kicking game and get them to spots on the field for Sam to weave his magic.
“He’ll also learn a lot from DCE as that’s part of his game he needs to improve to help get him to where he needs to get to.”
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The Daily Telegraph’s Dave Riccio then dropped an interesting nugget, stating Cherry-Evans’ Sea Eagles teammates believe the halfback does possess some chaos in his game.
“It’s interesting you say that Braith, the appeal in what the Roosters see in DCE, that controlling element and if you ask the Manly Sea Eagles, they don’t think so which is why they went and got Jamal Fogarty,” Riccio said.
“Fogarty keeps it simple, directs the team around the park, good kicking game and kick chase. But Daly has the ability to pay a little freelance footy. Take it down the short side, teammates may not know what the next play is. That’s very Sam Walker.
“I’m intrigued to see how that marriage works as they both can play freelance footy.”
“That’s mail I didn’t know. That players in his team think he’s a bit that way,” Anasta responded.
With Walker at the helm and the club seemingly set at halfback, a question that has been asked often is whether the Roosters really need Cherry-Evans.
While Walker has been strong at halfback in a handful of games since returning from a serious knee injury, the Roosters have struggled to win close games, which has resulted in them being longshots to make the eight.
Hooper says Cherry-Evans’ experience will be a massive asset in tight contests.
“The Roosters view that in the close games that they’ve lost this season, the most recent one to the Storm an example, if they’ve got a player of the experience and composure of Cherry-Evans, I think that they think he’d get them home,” he said.
