The toxic in-fighting at Manly has gotten to the stage where surely the Sea Eagles need to take the captaincy off Daly Cherry-Evans.

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Give it to Jakey Turbo – even if he’s not the biggest fan of coach Anthony Seibold right now – because at least you know Trbojevic is always going to bleed maroon and white.

The way Manly’s season spectacularly combusted against Newcastle and the Gold Coast Titans before a bye it’s clear the playing group is no longer following DCE as a leader.

They’ll follow Jake. Which might explain why Manly coach Seibold asked Cherry-Evans last week if there was any chance of clearing the air around his playing future publicly.

Unfortunately for the Sea Eagles, DCE still wants to continue with the charade of guessing games and conspiracy theories despite the entire rugby league community being convinced he’s going to the Sydney Roosters.

The request from Seibold came after a press conference curve ball following the loss to the Gold Coast in round 15 where DCE was asked if it was true the Roosters might have gone cold on the idea of signing him.

The way we’ve heard it, the Roosters deal will be a two-year contract with an option both ways in the final season by which stage DCE will be 38.

The Chooks have clearly convinced themselves the combination of DCE and Sam Walker will give them a better chance at closing out the tight games and get them closer to winning another title.

From a Manly point of view, the Sea Eagles need a circuit breaker to try and flip the script on what’s been a roller-coaster season.

Instead of the seven-minute, egg-timer player review interviews to try and turn the club around just make Jake captain and it might just galvanise a broken playing group.

Otherwise the Sea Eagles are on a road to nowhere this season.

Manly boss Tony Mestrov coming out in support of Seibold this week after uttering the dreaded “Seibs is safe at this point” line a week earlier was about as convincing as the full support of the board.

There’s a big push amongst the Manly old boys for either Chad Randall or Matt Balin to be brought back to the club to try and re-build a broken roster.

If the Sea Eagles get beaten by the Wests Tigers – currently on a five-game losing streak – on Friday night then expect it to get ugly real quick at Manly.

TIGERS YOUNG GUN SET FOR EXIT BEFORE JUNE 30

The Wests Tigers are poised to let another young gun local junior go prior to the June 30 deadline with Tallyn Da Silva currently doing the rounds with rival NRL clubs.

This week Da Silva has met Cowboys coach Todd Payten, Eels coach Jason Ryles, Manly’s Anthony Seibold and will meet Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien on Saturday.

When Lachlan Galvin walked out on Wests Tigers the concern was always Tallyn could be next given the two are best mates, attended Westfield Sports High together and won a Harold Matthews premiership with Wests Magpies in 2017.

But Da Silva’s circumstances are the complete opposite to Galvin. Tallyn’s got no beef with the club he simply wants to be playing NRL now and with champion hooker and Wests Tigers captain Api Koroisau in front of him his game time is limited.

Exhibit A was last Friday’s loss to the Canberra Raiders when Da Silva spent 80 minutes on the bench.

Koroisau has been a strong leader through tough biscuit times for the Wests Tigers and wants to remain at the club.

Coach Benji Marshall also wants to retain Koroisau beyond his current contract which expires at the end of 2026.

Initially we heard CEO Shane Richardson wasn’t so sure but we’ve since been told big Richo is supporting Benji’s decision as the coach.

And the coach wants Api. Which means Da Silva, 20, could be gone from the Tigers before June 30 because he’s got no shortage of clubs in the queue lining up to sign him.

Whoever lands the signature of Da Silva is a huge result.

BUNNIES SET TO REWARD CULT HERO WITH NEW DEAL

South Sydney cult figure Alex Johnston will be rewarded with a new two-year deal as the champion winger edges closer to smashing Ken Irvine’s try-scoring record.

The Bunnies fan favourite was on fire against Melbourne bagging four tries and South Sydney are currently putting the finishing touches on a new deal to ensure he remains at Heffron Park.

Given Johnston has now scored 11 tries in seven NRL games this season Irvine’s record of 212 tries is every chance of being equalled or broken this season.

We’ve also heard the Bunnies won’t be letting supercoach Wayne Bennett simply stroll out the door to take up a position with Papua New Guinea in 2028.

The Bunnies love Wayne and while the seven-time premiership-winning coach wants to keep coaching they want him to remain at South Sydney.

Expect Souths to sit down with Bennett at the end of the season about a contract extension.

DOUBLE STANDARDS AT THE DRAGONS?

The Dragons have got a live one on their hands in the form of coach Shane Flanagan’s blind loyalty to son Kyle.

There’s a growing perception around double standards at the Red V given Flanno’s repeated public support of his son.

While Kyle gets a protected species run in the NRL side surely other players must be wondering why there’s not the same public support and endorsement.

Kyle didn’t work at the Sydney Roosters or Canterbury-Banstown, either. It’s a tough position given the father-son relationship but it’s also the NRL.

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