On the cusp of Manly Sea Eagles games record, Daly Cherry-Evans still feels like an ‘imposter’

“That’s a part that I don’t let myself think about too much. You’ve just got to try and make sure you focus on what you can control, and that’s just me maximising my career. I think it’s a dangerous game when you start comparing yourself to legends of the game, you can sometimes forget how far you’ve come as a person.”

At times, Lyons more than anybody was the one encouraging Cherry-Evans to break his longstanding record.

“He’s the sort of bloke that’s even at times egged me on and just said, ‘Go on mate, go and pass it’,” Cherry-Evans said. “He sees that the records are there to be broken, so he’s been really supportive of me throughout my career.”

Menzies, who played for the Sea Eagles between 1993 and 2008, is the third most capped player for the club with 280 games to his name. If the 69 games he played for the Northern Eagles – a joint venture between the North Sydney Bears and the Sea Eagles from 2000 to 2002 – counted towards his total, Menzies would hold the record with 349 games.

At this stage, Cherry-Evans looks set to pass that number as well. With at least 20 games left in 2024, another year on his contract and no sign of slowing down, it’s not outlandish to think he could be nudging 400 games when he finally decides to call time on his career.

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It’s a milestone only ever reached by one man, Cameron Smith, who played 430 matches for Melbourne and, like Cherry-Evans, was a one-club player.

“I feel like it’s got a few more years left in it but, again, I’ll definitely be guided by my performance, how my body feels, and I guess where the club sees me,” Cherry-Evans said.

“I don’t know some of those answers, but the things I can control is how I’m looking after myself, and the footy I’m playing. So I’m just always trying to find improvement in those things, and enjoying what I’m doing.”