NRL boss makes ruling amid claims of 'illegal' Daly Cherry-Evans move during drop-outs
Fans have been complaining about the Manly captain seemingly being off-side all season.
The NRL's head of football has moved to clarify the rules around goal-line drop-outs amid constant claims from fans about Daly Cherry-Evans and the way he takes them. The Manly Sea Eagles captain has moved to a new technique for kicking drop-outs in 2024, which sees him stand in front of the goal-line before he kicks the ball.
Cherry-Evans likes to kick the ball to his right on drop-outs (targeting Jason Saab), making it tricky because he's right-footed. It means he gets himself in front of the goal-line before kicking the ball - although the ball is always on the line when he makes contact.
All season long, fans have been questioning whether Cherry-Evans is allowed to be in front of the line to kick the ball, with many suggesting he's in an off-side position. But Graham Annesley finally cleared up the situation in his weekly briefing on Monday.
The NRL's head of football stated that as long as Cherry-Evans drops the ball on the line or behind it before kicking, he's allowed to stand anywhere. "Some people are saying 'he's off-side', but you can't be off-side from your own kick," Annesley said.
Under the international laws of the game, a player conducting a kick-off or drop-out can be penalised if they "advance in front of the appropriate line before kicking the ball". But Annesley said the rule refers to when the ball is placed in front of the line for kick-offs, or dropped over the line for a drop-out.
Annesley said the rule was first introduced when players did 'toe-pokes', and never considered that a player would stand in front of the line to do a drop-out. "If Cherry-Evans had dropped the ball in front of the line it's a different story and that would be penalised," he said. "That's what the rule has always intended to do. It's just that the style of kicking has changed."
He has been doing this for a couple of months unchecked
— Back 2 Back 2 Back in Panthers Black (@ckthommo) July 21, 2024
This photo is not a good representation haha. I know what you mean tho and he does push the limits
— Jimmy (@jimmywidman) July 21, 2024
Does it regularly and the officials at the #NRL never do a thing about it!!
— Scott Snelgrove (@ScottySnelgrove) July 21, 2024
He done this in origin. I’m certain this is illegal.
— Nick (@cookieman1990) July 21, 2024
He did it in origin as well
— Rabbitoh Robert (@RabbitohRobert) July 21, 2024
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Graham Annesley responds to multiple NRL incidents
A reporter also asked Annesley about an incident in recent weeks in which Cherry-Evans was ordered to retake a kick for touch on two occasions because he stepped over the point where the penalty was received. Annesley said the Manly captain should have been penalised when he did it a second time.
"The referees do give some latitude because they don't put a physical mark on the ground," he said. "But they shouldn't be given that much latitude. If a player oversteps once and the referee gives him another chance, I think that's fine. But having been given that second chance they shouldn't get a third chance.
"I'm happy for them to bring it back once but they should only get two attempts - in my view - and I wouldn't be giving them any more attempts than that. If they haven't got the message after the first two attempts they should have the ball taken off them."
Annesley also stated that he was happy with how the melee in State of Origin 3 was handled, after Jeremiah Nanai and Cameron Murray were sin-binned and Haumole Olakau'atu banished from the sideline. However he conceded the Bulldogs should have been awarded a crucial penalty that was denied in the dying stages of their loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night after Nanai acted as a 'disruptor' and put Connor Tracey off while trying to catch the ball.
