Dear Daly,

Today I learned that you would be staying with the Manly Sea Eagles.

You signed with the Gold Coast Titans but have opted to scratch that deal and stay with Manly. It's commonly known as a 'backflip' which is a term created by your Australian media friends, someone less cynical might just call it 'getting a better offer'.

Bro, people hate you.

I understand why and I'm sure you know why as well, but it's pretty unfair. You've got a friend in my mate, I'm a ride or die type of friend as well for what it's worth.

And for what it's worth, Manly have a future which will be much better with you steering the ship. The Trbojevic brothers go alright, Peta Hiku is a gun and you've got a crop of young forwards who can usher in a new era. Manly are struggling right now but keep the long term in mind, this will be your team that you can mould. 

Personally, I reckon you were just making the most of the opportunities put in front of you. This is how I see it...

Manly didn't put a suitable offer on the table, so you looked elsewhere.

You signed with the Gold Coast, which was secure decision. You  get to move to the Gold Coast, closer to home and you have the chance to lead the Titans into a new future.

Or, signing with the Titans and the departure of Kieran Foran would force Manly to make a legit offer.

Which I reckon you were secretly hoping for all along. You smartly forced Manly to make a play, which they weren't keen on doing before and they realised they had to make a much better offer to keep you there. 

I don't know how well you and Nate Myles get along, but by signing with the Titans, you probably forced the Sea Eagles to step up their own recruitment to convince you that they were on the right path. They signed your homie Nate who ironically probably played some sort of role in getting you to sign with the Titans. 

I like you, I love how damn good you are and I'm happy with how this should end up. It seemed pretty dramatic for Manly to lose both you and Fozza, like, it was too crazy to be true. 

All along I was secretly hoping you'd decide to stay with Manly, they deserve to at least keep one of their halves. When I remember how complex things have been in the Manly board room over the past year or so, I don't blame you for looking elsewhere but it probably meant that it had to reach that point before common sense prevailed and they made you a suitable offer.

The moral of the story should be 'talk to your friends'. You and Fozza might have talked about all this a few times, but maybe if you had each been a bit clearer with each other and your plans, you wouldn't have had to go through all of this.

I'm just glad it's over.

You've got an ally in me, you're well within your rights to do this and I like it so all the best.

Manly need you and they need to focused, zoned in on rebuilding the club. Do that son, do that.

It's probably best that you throw your weight around with the coaching situation as well, which I imagine has already taken place. Without doubt, you would have asked questions about Geoff Toovey's future, which could have gone one of two ways.

You either sought word from the board that Toovey would be kept onboard, to help Manly out of this spot that they are in. Or, you asked for a change in coach and who knows, maybe the rumours of Trent Barrett being the next Manly coach were leaked by someone with knowledge of this. I don't know how you feel about Coach Toovey, but I imagine that his future is closely linked to your feelings.

Chur

Doccy Docco