A night after they slumped to a third-straight loss in the NRL, Cherry-Evans, the Trbojevic brothers, Dylan Walker, Akuila Uate, Addin Fonua-Blake and Shaun Lane all plonked themselves on plastic chairs in the main grandstand. Jackson Hastings was originally set to remain with Manly feeder side Blacktown Workers for the rest of the season. Credit:NRL Imagery Even though the match was beamed live on Fox Sports, the players made a pact to stick together and spend their Saturday afternoon on the other side of the bridge in suburbia. "It's good to come back and see the younger guys having a go,'' Lane said. "There have been some tough times for the club in recent times so, as a playing group, we wanted to stay tight, and this is a good show of support and team unity.

"Hopefully these guys were reminded they're not forgotten about. As a bloke who has played plenty of reserve grade in my time, it helps you a bit.'' Loading Lane was the player who intervened in the infamous Gladstone hotel-room altercation between Cherry-Evans and Hastings almost three weeks ago. Lane said he was naturally happy to play alongside Hastings if he was recalled for next Sunday's clash against the Sydney Roosters. The Roosters are Hastings' former club, where he also fell out with some teammates.

"We're in an injury crisis at the moment with [Lachlan] Croker going down with an ACL, which is devastating for him, but we're low on stock in the halves, and 'Jacko' would be a handy replacement," Lane said. "He's had a fair bit of NRL experience in the halves. It would be good, but it's the coach's decision, and if it's best for Jacko's welfare, and the best decision for the club, Baz [coach Trent Barrett] will make that decision. We'll leave it in his hands. "Everything that happened in Gladstone was cleared up straight away. He's come out for team dinners and everyone has welcomed him back into the playing group. There are no issues with Jacko. "As a good friend of his, I certainly like having him around and a few of the other boys do, too. We're supporting him as much as we can.'' Cherry-Evans was the driving force in making sure there was a good show of first-grade players at Belmore. He politely declined to comment when approached by Fairfax Media.

When quizzed on his bizarre contact with Jamie Buhrer's eye on Friday, Cherry-Evans was happy to say: "That was just some playful banter between two friends that was taken way out of context.'' Loading Nu Brown, who has been linked with a move to Manly, was handy for Canterbury. It is understood the Dogs will not stand in Brown's way should Manly – or any other club – stump up an offer to bring him in. "Rumours are rumours," Brown said. "My job is to be here for the Bulldogs and play my best footy here.'' As for coming up against Hastings and all the headlines that surrounded him coming into the game, Brown said: "He was awesome today. His whole team was down but he lifted the boys and his teammates respect him.''

The injuries continued for the Sea Eagles with Jonathan Wright, now a back-rower, injuring his hand, while halfback Joey Lussick - another potential Croker replacement - came from the field early but was reportedly fine.