Mitchell Moses shines as coach Jason Taylor lets Wests Tigers off leash

MITCHELL Moses took a major step towards securing his coach Jason Taylor’s future with a first-half masterclass to deliver an inspiring upset win

NRL: Tigers v Warriors

WHEN Jason Taylor originally signed on as coach of the Wests Tigers, the opportunity to work with rising star Mitchell Moses was one of the main reasons he returned to the NRL hot-seat.

On Saturday night, the 21-year-old Tigers half took a major step towards securing his coach’s own future with a first-half masterclass to deliver an inspiring upset win over premiership-heavyweights, the New Zealand Warriors.

In front of a small yet vocal 10,917 crowd at Campbelltown Stadium, the Tigers raced to an incredible 28-4 lead — their greatest halftime lead in the club’s history at the ground — before holding off a fast-finishing Warriors outfit.

Describing his side’s first-half as “unacceptable” the eight-point loss by the Warriors will ensure further pressure mounts on coach Andrew McFadden, who is now the favourite to be the first coach sacked this season.

Ahead of the match, most believed the storyline to be revolved around the future of the two coaches.

On Sunday morning, the story is Moses.

Because while after the match Taylor passionately declared he had the “full support” of club administration and he wasn’t “worried the speculation”, the coach will wake this morning with Moses to thank for the positive headlines.

Moses was the complete player in the opening 40-minutes.

Even without recognised halfback Luke Brooks (suspended) beside him, the off-contract Moses overshadowed his high-profile rival Shaun Johnson, by setting the tempo and laying on three of the Tigers four spectacular first-half tries.

His passing game to supply first-half tries for Curtis Sironen and David Nofoaluma showed class beyond his years.

Luke Brooks and Robbie Farah watch from the stands.

“It’s been enormously enjoyable (to work with Mitch),’’ Taylor said.

“He’s worked so hard at it and he was such a rookie this time last year, he’s only played a handful of games and he played every minute of every game last year.

“We made it hard for him because he wasn’t getting to play the footy that he really likes, but he’s doing that now.

“He ran the team for us today, which is a really big step for him.’’

Indicative of the passion and energy which they used to blow the Warriors off the park in the opening 40-minutes, Tigers captain Aaron Woods huddled his teammates on the field after the fulltime siren.

Taylor said he hoped the bond and camaraderie within the group would sway Moses into extending his future at the club.

“That’s a big part of what we’re trying to build,’’ Taylor said.

“We’re trying to build a team here, which enjoys each other’s company and moves up the ladder.

“There’s a lot of work being done and there’s a lot more that’s going to be done for this club to get back to where it should be, playing semi final football.

“Led by Woodsy we want guys like Luke and Mitch to take us there.’’

On his own future, Taylor said: “The big thing for me is the support I’ve got from the club.

“The support from the club is absolutely rock solid and it means I can do my job.

“We keep making really strong decisions in that regard, Justin Pascoe and I have formed a really great relationship and now Mark O’Neill is going to come on board and I’m really looking forward to that.

Tigers winger David Nofoaluma scores a try.

“Those people allow me to just get on with coaching the team.

“I’m not worried about the speculation because I know that it doesn’t affect the people that are in charge of our club.’’

Despite an 80 per cent first-half completion rate, the Warriors lacked any cohesion with their big off-season signings outmuscled by the likes of Woods, James Tedesco and Sausao Sue.

While they rallied with four second-half tries in the space of 20-minutes, they failed the polish to run completely over the top of the Tigers.

The visitors loss was compounded by the potential season-ending knee injury to Ben Henry.

Originally published as Mitchell Moses shines as coach Jason Taylor lets Wests Tigers off leash