Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans has opened up about "agendas" to remove him as skipper, and says he thought about leaving the Sea Eagles in the wake of reports about a player-driven push against him.
The 33-year-old, in camp in Brisbane with the Australian Prime Minister's XIII ahead of the clash with Papua New Guinea on Sunday, addressed reports concerning his alleged falling out with the Trbojevic brothers - Tom and Jake - and a reported rift in the playing group over his captaincy style.
"I'd be lying to say it didn't cross my mind," Cherry-Evans said when asked if he had thought about finding another club.
But the Sea Eagles skipper said the more discussions he had at the club about the rumours, including with the Trbojevics, the more he understood "a lot of it wasn't true".
"I took a lot of satisfaction knowing where I stood," Cherry-Evans said.
"There are some things I will never be able to control at Manly but the things I can control are the relationships I have with the coaching staff and playing group and the ownership.
"The more it has gone on, the better I have felt about it.
"It just reassured me that what I am doing at this club is the right thing.
"The love I have for the place hasn't changed. I am going to continue to try and get Manly back to finals next year and finish my career there."
Cherry-Evans said some people at the club were trying to "rip the place apart".
He was asked if it hurt there was a perception he did not get along with some players in the wake of the Pride jersey fiasco that resulted in seven of his teammates refusing to play against the Roosters.
"That was pretty funny to be honest, considering how comfortable I am with all my teammates, let alone the seven that didn't play and the rest of the Polynesian group," he said
"The longer it went on, and the more people I spoke to, the more I realised that these were personal attacks and ... certain agendas."
Cherry-Evans said some people at the club were keen to bring him down as captain.
"That is probably the reality of the situation, that people wanted that, but the people that hold the power at the club have backed me as skipper," he said.
The decorated halfback also explained why he wanted coach Des Hasler, off-contract at the end of next year, to continue leading the club.
"I am a big fan of Des Hasler, and I am a big fan of him being our coach for as long as he can do that," Cherry-Evans said.
"I do really love him as a bloke and I do enjoy being coached by him."
