Manly's management have defended their handling of the Daly Cherry-Evans affair, while adamant they can still convince the club's greatest ever halfback to stay on.
The Sea Eagles on Tuesday tabled a two-year deal to Cherry-Evans worth close to $1.4 million, that would keep the halfback in the NRL until after his 38th birthday.
The offer came despite Cherry-Evans saying on Monday night he would not accept a new deal, having made his mind up that this year would be his last at Manly.
Despite that, the Sea Eagles captain also confirmed he currently held a desire to play on in 2026, and had began to process the idea of running out against Manly.
The most capped player in Manly's history, Cherry-Evans said the Sea Eagles opted against tabling him a new deal last December when no other clubs made an offer.
It was at that point the 36-year-old seemingly decided to move on, telling close friends and family before going public with his plans this week.
Manly CEO Tony Mestrov defended the club's approach on Tuesday, insistent the Sea Eagles did not want to rush Cherry-Evans into a call on his future after initial talks about an extension following last season.
"We wanted to respect Daly's privacy. And we've always done that," Mestrov said.
"Daly did speak to us in December. He was going to either retire or go overseas. He reiterated that it would be his last year at Manly and we respected that.
"We did not want to make him an offer or infiltrate him in any way.
"It's a shock to everyone else, but not necessarily us. We wanted to give him his space. And I think we've done that."
Mestrov also rejected the suggestion he or the club had tried to low-ball Cherry-Evans when salaries were discussed for if the No.7 wanted to play on.
Cherry-Evans' gauging of interest in the market came at a similar time to when fellow aging half Ben Hunt signed with Brisbane for close to $550,000 in late November.
But while Hunt's Broncos deal represented a significant pay cut from the seven figures he was on at St George Illawarra, Cherry-Evans remains one of the NRL's best halves.
Regardless Mestrov insisted there was no bad blood between the two parties, and the club had never tried to offer any less money than they did on Tuesday.
"We haven't low-balled because it's just been a discussion point. The first formal offer was this morning," Mestrov said.
"In the ongoing discussions, there was no low-balling at all. The figure that we've offered ... it hasn't been lower than that."
"We wouldn't do that to disrespect Daly. It wouldn't be on. We're not about that in the club.
"The offer is there for a coaching position (after football). You don't offer a coaching position if there's animosity."
The Dolphins are expected to lead the pursuit of Cherry-Evans, with the Sydney Roosters, South Sydney and Canterbury other potentially interested parties.
Mestrov did concede that Cherry-Evans was "irreplaceable" after a record 333 games at Manly, beginning with a premiership in his rookie 2011 season.
The No.7 signed a "lifetime" eight-year deal at Manly in 2015 after opting out of a move to Gold Coast, and looked certain to finish his career at Brookvale before the latest news.
The NRL's halves market is particularly skinny, and Manly's best options will likely come from within.
One possibility would be to move Tom Trbojevic to five-eighth to partner Luke Brooks, while youngsters Joey Walsh and Onitoni Large are also future prospects.
But Mestrov insisted the club was still holding out hope Cherry-Evans would again change his mind and stay.
"I don't think we're too late. It's never say never," Mestrov said.
"I don't think Daly's made a decision himself. Let's hope he reconsiders. I don't think it's too late in any sense of the imagination.
"And we've put our best foot forward. Obviously, we've put that in writing this morning to his management. And we'll wait for an answer back.
"I've said that to Daly personally. It's your decision. We'll respect the time you need to make for that decision."
