The Dolphins or Roosters ... or will it be the Cowboys, or even French club Catalans in the Super League? Daly Cherry-Evans has officially closed the door on re-signing with the Sea Eagles, meaning he’ll either retire at season’s end or play on with another club in 2026. The Roosters and Dolphins are the two NRL clubs that are most likely to pursue DCE, but CODE Sports is reporting that the star half is open to a move to France to play for Super League team Catalans; while a former Maroons teammate reckons he’s a done deal at the Roosters, and his current Queensland coach is touting the Cowboys. Catalans have several former NRL stars on contract this year, including Luke Keary, Elliott Whitehead and Tevita Pangai Junior. According to CODE Sports, Cherry-Evans’ wife Vessa is close to Keary’s wife Amy. Despite the Catalans link, former NRL star Corey Parker believes Cherry-Evans will be playing for the Roosters next year. “If you look at the links, Daly’s manager also manages James Tedesco. “I’m extremely surprised he is leaving Manly but you don’t make that call if you haven’t got something else lined up.” Queensland coach Billy Slater says the Cowboys make sense, given their struggles to find an elite halves partner for Tom Dearden and DCE’s background as a Mackay Brothers junior. “To be honest, I don’t think we know all the details so it’s really hard to give you an opinion on what’s happening without knowing and understanding everything, but yeah it is sad because you know he’s spent 15 years of his life and his whole football career at Manly,” Slater told 104.5 Triple M Breakfast in Brisbane. “He’s a premiership player there and he’s playing extremely well so it does seem a little bit strange that he’s not going to be there next year. “You know, the Cowboys is another option. He spent a lot of his growing up in Mackay, which is Cowboys country, they’re there in the market, I would say, for a halfback.” Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have officially pulled out of the race to sign Cherry-Evans with Phil Gould denying the club will make a play for his services. Danny Weidler tweeted Gould’s emphatic stance on Cherry-Evans on X formerly Twitter. “I really admire DCE as a person,” Gould said. “He’s an ornament to the game. Obviously I’ve been a fan of his football his whole career. But Daly Cherry-Evans will not be coming to the Bulldogs.” Manly have a hit list to replace halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, with Broncos No.7 Adam Reynolds one of a number of key targets. The Daily Telegraph reported Reynolds and Titans veteran Kieran Foran are in Manly’s sights after Cherry-Evans rejected the club’s last ditch two year $1.5 million extension offer. Reynolds’ name has reportedly been discussed along with Raiders halfback Jamal Fogarty as Manly shift their attention to potential replacements with the money they had earmarked for Cherry-Evans. Foran is another name, with the former Sea Eagles premiership winner off-contract with the Titans at the end of the 2025 season and he could potentially have returned for his third stint with the club — though on Thursday night he ruled out returning to Manly. Manly have high hopes for young halves Joey Walsh and Onitoni Large who they have on long-term deals. But the two young gun playmakers may be at least 12 months away from being ready to become permanent NRL players. Foran spent seven years at Manly, winning a premiership in 2011 before moving to Parramatta at the end of the 2015 season on a big-money deal. He eventually returned to Manly for the 2021 and 2022 seasons before finding a home at the Gold Coast Titans, where he is off contract at the end of the year but also nearing the end of his career, having endured a torrid time with injuries. Reynolds is off-contract at the end of the season and the Broncos face an uphill battle to retain a large chunk of their squad including Kotoni Staggs, Selwyn Cobbo and Payne Haas in the next couple of seasons. Fogarty is off-contract with the Raiders, who are believe Ethan Strange and Ethan Sanders as their long-term halves. Fogarty’s management requested permission from the Raiders to open negotiations with rival clubs during the off-season, however, Canberra officials rejected the approach. Complicating matters is a clause in Fogarty’s Raiders contract, whereby the club has until round six to take up a $650,000 deal for next year. If the Raiders don’t take up the club option, Fogarty will become a free agent in just over two weeks. He also has a player option in his contract, which means he can take up by round 20 to stay at the Raiders in 2026. Stuart and the Raiders are refusing to deal with Fogarty’s agent, Tas Bartlett, and will instead meet with Chris Orr from the same management company. Source: www.foxsports.com.au