Manly legend reveals sheds blow-up with 'selfish' DCE

Manly great Mark Carroll has revealed a dressing room spat with "selfish" Daly Cherry-Evans over how the halfback left the Sea Eagles.

The veteran No.7 went on Nine's 100% Footy early in the season to announce he would finish up at Brookvale at the conclusion of this season.

He is widely expected to join the Roosters to finish his career with a swansong campaign next year.

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The Sea Eagles finished the season in 10th, only one win and percentage outside a finals berth.

In a column for The Nightly, Carroll claimed Manly would be playing finals if not for Cherry-Evans.

"Their roster was good enough to win more than 12 games and finish much higher than 10th. So why didn't they?" he wrote.

"Now the dust has settled on their campaign, I am more convinced than ever that Daly Cherry-Evans' momentous decision to walk away from the club next year cost them their season. And I told him as much."

Carroll - who played 88 of his 202 first grade games for Manly - then revealed he had a run-in with Cherry-Evans following a recent game.

It was the result of an earlier column for The Nightly in which he criticised the halfback's manner of quitting the Sea Eagles.

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He says he went into Manly's dressing sheds to speak with players Ethan Bullemor and Toff Sipley, but ended up in a stoush with the captain.

"Before I could get to them, I saw DCE staring daggers at me. What's he so filthy about, I thought to myself," Carroll wrote.

"So I walked over to him and said: 'Congratulations on what you have achieved here and good luck wherever you go'.

"He responded: 'Do you really mean that?', I shot back: 'What do you mean by that?.

"He then told me he'd read my column in The Nightly where I'd criticised his decision to quit the club after three rounds of a new season, suggesting it would cause a rift with teammates, ruin his legacy on the northern beaches and cost his side a finals berth.

"He was also upset I'd called on him to retire from State of Origin football and to give the maroon and whites his entire focus in his 15th and final year.

"DCE thought my article was harsh and out of line. And he felt I was now contradicting myself by congratulating him.

"I told him: 'At least you're reading my stuff and I don't back away from what I wrote. You're a legend of this club and played for your state and country and I thought it would be nice if you put all your energy into helping Manly make the eight. Instead, you come across as trying to be some sort of superhero and I feel your decision derailed the season. As for playing Origin, that backfired. You were the captain and got punted'.

"He told me he was OK with that decision and I replied: 'I certainly wouldn't be'.

"I then gave him a special Spudd handshake – which has been known to make eyes pop – and we went our separate ways.

"I truly believe Manly would-be playing finals footy next week if not for his selfish decision to abandon ship and the way he went about it.

How you can go on a footy show – with no club gear on – and blindside so many people with such a major career call is beyond me.

And while his teammates said the right things publicly, you could tell they were hurting and angry.