NRL 2021: Mitch Moses sprays keeping Bryce Cartwright in line
Bryce Cartwright can do it all on the footy field – but sometimes he tries to do it all at once – which is when Mitch Moses unleashes one of his famous sprays.
NRL
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Bryce Cartwright has credited halfback Mitchell Moses’ infamous sprays for helping to bring him down to earth — and spark his NRL revival.
Moses has a reputation for asserting his authority and tearing shreds off teammates on the field to keep them in line.
For Cartwright, who had a hand in two tries and scored one of his own in the Eels’ 46-6 victory over Brisbane in Darwin on Friday night, Moses’ scathing rebukes have been exactly what he needs as he rebuilds his career with the Eels.
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“They’re always pulling me up, I haven’t had that for a while. That is probably something I have needed,” Cartwright said after the match.
“Mitch and I are really close, I have known him since I was 14, 15 years old. Every time I have done something well he just tells me to forget about it and do my job again, there’s probably a few explicit words in there so he’s always keeping me on track which is good.”
Pushing passes, offloads and simply ‘trying to do too much’, Cartwright showed flashes of the weaknesses in his game during Parramatta’s loss to St George Illawarra in round five, which was his first game in Eels colours.
But Friday night’s tempered performance has given his teammates confidence that Cartwright can rediscover the form that once made him one of the game’s most exciting prospects.
“He is just very frantic at times and he probably tries too hard on the field with his offloads and stuff,” Eels forward Nathan Brown said.
“We have told him the way we wanted to play as a team here at Parramatta and he showed tonight what he can do. He came off the bench and really changed the game for us.”
The 26-year old, who was unwanted at the Gold Coast last season, burst on to the NRL scene at Penrith in 2014, carrying not only the burden of the famous Cartwright name but also the pressure to live-up to the hype surrounding his talents.
But after a number of off-field issues, Cartwright’s form waned and he was released to join the Titans in 2018.
The skilful backrower was unable to recapture his best form on the Gold Coast and after 43 games was released from his deal and moved back to Sydney, his NRL career seemingly in tatters.
Cartwright revealed that Eels coach Brad Arthur was the only person willing to give the Penrith junior a chance at redemption.
“No, I had nothing else,” Cartwright said.
“I was just training with a few people, trying to stay fit and strong if a call came.
“Parra called and to be honest I don’t think I would’ve looked anywhere else after meeting with Brad. It went that well and Parra was the option from there.”
Cartwright’s comeback was almost derailed when a freak accident at training left him with a broken jaw only two days out from the Eels’ first trial match.
For the first time, Cartwright has spoken about the incident and revealed it was a tackle gone wrong on winger Blake Ferguson that caused the injury.
“It’s funny actually, when it happened I was in hospital and he was calling me. I thought he must’ve been checking in on me to see if I’m all right. He goes ‘hey bra, can I have your massage (appointment)?’,” Cartwright said with a laugh.
“It was shit timing. It was a tackle that you’d make a lot during the game. My first game back I was pretty scared to make that sort of tackle again, but as soon as I did I was fine.”
SAME OLD STORY FOR ‘SICKENINGLY MENTALLY SOFT’ BRONCOS
Bumbling Brisbane slumped to their worst start to a season in 22 years after a hat-trick from Parramatta bogeyman Maika Sivo consigned the Broncos to a 46-6 belting at TIO Stadium.
The courage of Brisbane’s gutsy loss to Penrith last week proved a false dawn, the Broncos hitting rock bottom in the Top End as a Sivo-inspired Eels side ripped Brisbane apart in an eight-tries-to-one Darwin debacle.
It was Brisbane’s biggest loss of the season, eclipsing a 40-6 rout against Melbourne, and they face the Titans next Friday night with their confidence shot after six losses from their opening seven games.
PARRAMATTA RECRUITS GET THE JOB DONE
Brad Arthur’s bargain buys played a starring role in the demolition with new recruits Tom Opacic, Isaiah Papali’i and, in particular, Bryce Cartwright producing standout performances.
In only his third game for the Eels, Carwright, who took a $350,000 pay cut to resurrect his NRL career under Brad Arthur, proved why the Parramatta coach put his faith in the unwanted forward.
Cartwright’s silky hands and ability to hold up opposition players was on full display on Friday night with the former Gold Coast Titans utility heavily involved in two tries and crashing over to score one of his own in the 51st minute.
“I knew he had ability,” Arthur said after the match. “I like his body shape and when I spoke to him, he more or less indicated it was his last opportunity so we like to get blokes that are not on the outer at clubs, but blokes we think we can improve and fit into our style of footy.”
DUMB AND DUMBER
Brisbane’s forwards are laying a decent platform but the Broncos, as a collective, are a sickeningly mentally soft unit.
Fundamental errors, an incohesive scrumbase, last-play lethargy and lapses in defensive intensity allow more professional sides like the Eels to apply pressure – then break Brisbane’s spirit.
Despite losing skipper Alex Glenn to a calf injury in the warm-up, Brisbane’s front six were strong early. Payne Haas worked his guts out, debutant hooker Danny Levi was slick and Tevita Pangai Jnr crashed over in the 11th minute to level scores at 6-all.
But it’s the same old story for Brisbane. When a momentum shift occurs, they fall apart. That’s when the Eels took control, gradually belting the Broncos in the middle third, triggering a three-try blitz in seven minutes for a 24-6 halftime lead.
Brisbane missed a staggering 51 tackles and their left edge leaked six tries. They were so defensively sloppy Titans discard Bryce Cartwright was made to look like Sonny Bill Williams.
MAIKA SIVO
Fijian powerhouse Maiko Sivo continued his destructive run against the Broncos in Darwin after opening the scoring for the Eels after just two minutes.
Sivo’s second came on the back of a slick passage of play down the left edge with a slick pass from Mitchell Moses finding Bryce Cartwright, who delivered the perfect tip-on for Sivo to dive over in the 28th minute. The hat trick was sealed in the 70th minute.
Sivo now has nine tries in seven games against the Broncos, his most against any opponent in the competition.
HALF THE PROBLEM
With every passing week, the alarm bells about Brisbane’s scrumbase ring louder.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters has to go to the open market for an established playmaker. Adam Reynolds. Mitchell Moses. Benji Marshall. ‘Kevvie’ has to buy someone because, as an alliance, Brodie Croft and Tom Dearden simply lack the experience and game craft to get the job done.
Croft was abysmal at second receiver. It wasn’t just his three errors and missed tackle which led to Isaiah Papali’i’s 32nd-minute try. It was his general lack of game awareness to service the backline.
For now, the only option is for Walters to drop Croft and recall Anthony Milford. Long term, if Walters doesn’t sort out his scrumbase, it will cost him his job.
“ICE” MAN
Former New Zealand Warriors forward Papali’i crashed through three Broncos defenders to cross the line, taking his 2021 tally to five tries.
Papali’i, who took a six-figure pay cut to join the Eels, finished the match with 141 run metres and five tackle busts.
Arthur’s most astute signing in a number of years, Isaiah “Ice” Papali’i, is now the man that will give the Parramatta coach a selection headache with Ryan Matterson preparing to make his return from concussion, after five weeks sidelined, through NSW Cup this weekend.
Papali’i has not skipped a beat since being named to start on the left edge in place of Matterson since round three, and again made an impressive claim to keep his spot in the starting side ahead of Matterson.
“He’s done a really good job and I was able to give him a fair rest tonight and get minutes into other guys,” Arthur said.
“I’m travelling back tonight to go and watch Ryan Matterson and I’m looking forward to seeing him play and I’ll worry about the team come Monday. Look, Matto is really committed to making sure he can help our reggie [reserve grade] side out.”
AT THE X-ROADS
Young Broncos winger Xavier Coates needs to lift his game. He made the first blunder of the game when he grassed the kick-off and was tormented on his right flank by Fijian monster Sivo. Coates could easily be a poster boy for the 2021 Broncos: obvious talent but lacking the hard edge to be a dominant force.
KEY COG
Brisbane prop Payne Haas, a Muslim, has been observing Ramadan, where a person abstains from all food and drink between sunrise and sunset for a month, while the Broncos have been in Darwin in oppressive heat over the past three days.
In a losing side, Haas churned out 172 metres, made eight tackle busts and a linebreak.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters accused his side of not supporting the boom forward as he carried the team.
“He’s outstanding, Payne,” Walters said. “I’m just disappointed for him, that the effort he can put in like that and it’s a shame he doesn’t have some more mates around him to help him out.”
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