'Whatever comes my way': DCE prepared for mixed reception in 4 Pines return

Daly Cherry-Evans has vowed to embrace a mixed reception from Manly fans when he returns to 4 Pines Park for the first time as a Rooster on Thursday night.

After 15 years at the Sea Eagles, the veteran made the polarising decision to join the Roosters in the off-season. 

Thursday's match has been circled on the calendars of players and fans from both clubs since the draw was announced last November. 

Cherry-Evans revealed he has largely felt the love from Manly fans throughout the summer but concedes his return to Brookvale will stir plenty of emotions among the Sea Eagles faithful. 

"I'm fine with whatever comes my way," Cherry-Evans said. "But I tell you what, if the last six months is any reflection based on the amount of people I've seen in the community and Manly fans, it's been nothing but positive.

"That's not to say some people there might be a bit more negative but overall my relationship with the hill has been awesome the whole way through. 

"It's not to say people won't boo but I'm very, very comfortable with so many friendships and relationships I've got with the Manly fan base."

The Roosters are looking to bounce from a last-start defeat to the Panthers while Manly had the bye in Round 3 after back-to-back losses to start the season. 

Cherry-Evans' decision to speak to the media to kick start the week is increasingly unusual, with most players opting against situations that could prompt a negative reaction from rival fans. 

The halfback, however, has long made peace with the decision to depart the Sea Eagles, first announced nearly 12 months ago to the day. 

It took longer for Cherry-Evans to lock in his next destination, with the contract with the Roosters not unveiled until November. 

The halfback has cherished the way his new club has embraced him with open arms and hopes Thursday's clash is an acknowledgement of both the past and the future. 

"I had a really strong belief that there was nothing to hide around this," Cherry-Evans said. "This isn't something to build up in a negative way, this is actually a really positive thing.

"Not necessarily the performance of our Roosters at the moment, that's not something I'm saying we should be proud of. We're trying to work really hard to fix that. But as for this situation, me here going to Manly, it's not a bad thing. 

"I'm sure at some stages this week certain parts of the media might make it seem like a bad thing but I can promise you it's not a bad thing. This is a part of the game, it's something I'm quite comfortable in, I'm comfortable with where I am, really excited to be here and happy to be here. 

"My focus has definitely been around trying to fix our performances on the field but a little sub-story to it all will be me going back to a place where I played for 15 years so that's going to be a great experience."

While Cherry-Evans has enjoyed his move to the Roosters, results on the field have been hard to come by. 

The side has dropped two of their first three, with a win over arch-rivals South Sydney sandwiched between heavy losses to the Warriors and Panthers. 

Manly have not fared much better and are desperate to kick-start their season on Thursday night. 

Cherry-Evans concedes it has taken longer than hoped for things to click on the field but is confident the side is moving in the right direction. 

"I'll be honest, I've tried to come into this whole experience with an open mind," Cherry-Evans said. "The more expectations you put on yourselves the more trouble you usually get into when it comes to not achieving them and then letting yourself down.

"Mentally things start to really fracture so we've been really clear on a process that we wanted to follow and at the moment as players and myself definitely included we're not getting a few things right on the process and the performance side of things. 

"I can promise you we're working around the clock to try and fix it so we'll continue to do that. We believe we've got the right coach, the right people in the room. 

"We've just got to keep having those conversations and keep putting the work in each week to get the performance we want on the weekend because at the moment it hasn't been at a level that we believe we can play to. 

"But the reality is it's round three so we've got to take our lessons from those first three weeks and then keep working towards what we believe is our best footing."