@Geo. said:
Wests Tigers star Mitchell Moses addresses speculation about his NRL future
FATIMA KDOUH, The Daily Telegraph
February 13, 2017 4:56pm
Subscriber only
MITCHELL Moses admits salary cap pressures could force him out of Wests Tigers, but speculation he signed a contract with the Roosters are wide of the mark.
The Tigers face an uphill battle to keep all of their quartet of off-contract stars — Moses, his halves partner Luke Brooks, captain Aaron Woods and superstar fullback James Tedesco.
Cross-town rivals Sydney Roosters are believed to be keen on Tedesco, while a weekend report suggested Moses’ move to the tricolours was a done deal until the youngster had cold feet and backed out.
Moses, however, was emphatic when asked about the Roosters link.
“First I’ve heard that I signed a contract with the Roosters,” Moses told The Daily Telegraph.
“I didn’t sign anything with the Roosters at all and it was nothing like that so that’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
Moses was also coy about whether or not he was approached by the Bondi club at any stage.
“No, like I said I’ve been worrying about the Tigers and left it up to my management,” he said.
“He’s sorting out all my contract stuff and who he wants to talk to — as a manager should do.”
But the 22-year old did concede even though he wanted to stay at the club he debuted, ultimately the salary cap would determine where his future lies.
“I’d love to stay here, we haven’t really spoken about it at all as a group, as a four,” Moses said.
“But with salary cap reasons and things like that … everyone knows it’s a business these days, players get pushed out and things happen.”
The five-eighth finished the 2016 campaign on a personal high despite his side being bungled out of the finals race by the Raiders in the final round.
He hit a purple patch of form in the back end of the season, which no doubt helps place the balance of power in his corner during contract negotiations.
“I took confidence out of the good games I played and tried to build on that and I thought I did that pretty well,” Moses said.
“I learned a lot from last year and what’s it’s like to play in the NRL week in, week out and to turn up for 80 minutes every week.”
But Moses did admit he initially felt overburdened with too much responsibility in early 2016 and it wasn’t until he found his feet that he started to play his best footy.
“I think I kind of took a leadership role on just after the start of the season and then having Brooksy out for a few games, then having Teddy (Tedesco) out as well … I had to take control a bit more,” he said.
“I had a bit of weight on my shoulders.
“I grew in confidence a bit towards that middle part of the year.”
The dilemma for the Tigers now is how they squeeze all of the ‘Big Four’ into the salary cap, especially since Moses believes he plays best with halfback Brooks by his side.
“I feel like I play my best footy when Brooksy is there. We work so well together and we know each other’s game,” he said.
“We know when someone wants the ball and when to push up through the middle ... so I think he takes a lot of pressure off me when he’s playing. One hundred per cent there he takes the pressure off when he’s there.”
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