The Eels’ title drought will roll into a 35th year. Now all eyes are on their fading $2.5m star
EELS
Simon Brunsdon
October 12, 2020 11:46am
SIMON BRUNSDON@simonbrunsdon
Source: FOX SPORTS
Experts are questioning whether Mitchell Moses is the right man to lead Parramatta to a drought-breaking premiership after the Eels crashed out of finals on Saturday.
The proud blue and gold club hasn’t won a title since Peter Sterling and Brett Kenny led them to a grand final victory in 1986.
Moses was brought to the club in 2017 with the hope he could be the player to replicate what Sterling did 34 years ago, but he’s yet to deliver.
He missed a crucial penalty goal in the semi final loss to South Sydney but that mistake only points to a much larger picture for the embattled No.7.
“I think he should have done better than what he has,” senior News Corp journalist Phil Rothfield told Big Sports Breakfast on Monday.
“You get someone like Mitchell Moses who has been around the block a few times, and he is on halfback money - 700 or $750,000... same with Luke Brooks.
“The moment you stick that No.7 jersey on there is that expectation that you are the quarterback, the team leader on the football field. They often overrule the captain with tactical decisions out on the field.
“It’s no fluke the best four halfbacks in the competition, their teams are still alive and playing preliminary finals.”
League legend and one of rugby league’s best ever playmakers, Laurie Daley, agreed Moses’ performances in big games have often been underwhelming.
The Eels have arguably the most in-form prop pairing in the NRL this season with Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Junior Paulo laying a solid platform for the team.
**Moses also has Immortal halfback Andrew Johns in his corner, who was brought to the Eels this year in the hope he could be the key to Moses fulfilling his potential.**
“This will be a story that will go deep into the off-season, about Mitch Moses,” Daley said.
**“They’ve faded the last couple of years, and they’ve had the forward pack, they’ve had the ability.”**
Moses was once touted as a future NSW State of Origin star but it’s fair to say he’s failed to live up to that hype so far in his seven years playing first grade.
And at 26 years of age he should be coming into the peak of his career as a playmaker.
He was last year crowned the Dally M Halfback of the Year after laying on 31 try assists and leading the Eels from a 2018 wooden spoon to fifth place on the ladder.
In season 2020 he had only nine try assists and took a back seat to his captain and fullback Clint Gutherson who laid on 19 and was star of the show.
Champion halfback Cooper Cronk fears Moses has tried to strengthen his weakness and in turn has neglected his biggest strength.
A fortnight before Saturday’s semi final loss, he was the target of some brutal Cronk analysis, who had just watched Moses lay on two Eels tries in a win over last-placed Brisbane, but the champion halfback wasn’t as impressed as some onlookers.
**“Mitchell Moses for me again, he did some nice things and set up one try but he had five errors … three of them were bad passes and two seven-tackle sets,” Cronk told Fox League.**
“In big games you just can’t play like that and expect to dominate and win football games.
“There’s no doubt he’s got to play to his strengths. His strength is running the football and I think this year he’s changed his identity and become a little bit more of a manager of a football team.
“And he has to because to be a gun halfback in this competition you need to be good at a lot of different things to control the result of a football game.
“But for Mitchell to play his best football he needs to play to his strengths – his strengths are getting the ball early, taking the line on and coming up with some nice X-factor plays that can get his team over the line.
“But, in among all that he needs to control the tempo of his game, hit the accelerator when it needs to be hit but to also tone it back.
“Now, to have five errors in a big finals game, that will cost you coming up against the Panthers, Storm or the Roosters.”
Moses signed a contact extension last year which ties him to Parramatta until the end of 2022 and is worth about $800,000 a year.