Mitchell Moses death threats: Parramatta Eels reveal halfback hid death threat saga from team

Parramatta captain Clint Gutherson has revealed the extraordinary lengths Mitch Moses went to to hide the death threat saga from teammates.

Mitchell Moses during Parramatta’s match against New Zealand. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Parramatta skipper Clint Gutherson has revealed Mitch Moses kept his death threat saga so secret from teammates that none of them had any idea why so many security were on CommBank Stadium last Friday night.

On the same day two teenagers were identified as being responsible for alleged threats against Moses and his family, both Gutherson and coach Brad Arthur praised the No.7’s handling of the situation.

Better, the pair said the 27-year-old could now be “fully focused on footy” during their Friday Night Football blockbuster against Brisbane at home.

Gutherson also credited authorities for identifying those behind the alleged threats, while conceding the issue could have hampered the Eels’ premiership push if allowed to continue.

Speaking from a team camp on the Central Coast, ‘Gutho’ said the entire playing group was relieved to have the ordeal sorted, describing what Moses and his family went through as “sad”.

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Three security guards shadow Mitchell Moses after Parramatta's win over the Warriors. Credit: Fox Sports

However when asked if other Eels players were also nervous going into the Warriors match, both the captain and coach revealed the halfback decided against telling the team.

“I didn’t even know about it,” Gutherson said.

“I remember seeing all the security guards after the game and thinking it was weird, but I didn’t put anything to it until later when I saw an Instagram post (revealing the story).

“So that’s when I shot Mitch a message.

“But after the game I was just walking out with him and there was heaps of security. I went one way, he went the other … I just thought he might’ve done something on the field.”

Arthur added: “Mitchell kept it quiet because he didn’t want it to be a distraction for the team.

“He didn’t want it to have an effect on me worrying about it which was admirable of him.

“But he doesn’t have to deal with these things on his own. The club handled it with him.

Gutherson and Moses. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty

“But that just shows where his maturity is at and how he’s putting the team forward and the team priorities before his own.”

Asked when the coach knew, Arthur continued: “I knew before the game but we didn’t have a discussion about it because he wanted to focus on his job.

“And he’s great now.

“Circumstances haven’t been great for him but you wouldn’t see any effects … he’s commitment to the group and committed to what the rest of us are trying to do.”

Gutherson was also full of praise for the Eels playmaker.

“You don’t want that in the game or anywhere else,” he said of the death threats. “And to have it happen to your mate, to their family, it’s sad.

“It’s a delicate situation, you don’t know where (the threats) are coming from.

“A lot of the time it’s just people doing something stupid to try and have a laugh, but now just to be able to move on … it’s not like it’s dragged on for months, with people walking around on egg shells.

“It’s done.

“We can be fully focused on footy.

“If it went for a few weeks, a month, a couple of months it could’ve become an issue. You probably get a bit scared.

“But to have full focus now on footy, it’s good for him and his family.”

Moses death threat teens identified

- Brent Read

Two teenagers from southwest Sydney have been identified by police as being responsible for alleged death threats made against Parramatta star Mitchell Moses.

Moses was shadowed by security before and after the Eels’ game against the Warriors last weekend and it later emerged that he had been the subject of death threats prior to the game.

NSW Police confirmed in a statement on Tuesday morning that two teenagers had been identified in relation to the threats.

“On Sunday 10 July 2022, NSW Police commenced an investigation after receiving reports of alleged threats made towards a 27-year-old man,” NSW Police said in a statement.

Mitchell Moses seemed nonplussed by the threats during the game. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

“On Monday 18 July, Detectives attached to North Shore Police Area Command attended Greenacre and spoke to two males aged 15 and 16.

“They will both be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act for using carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence.”

The alleged calls and text messages threatening Moses were reported to the NRL in the lead-up to Parramatta’s 28-18 win over the New Zealand Warriors on Friday night.

Moses was ushered in and out of the ground by venue security and police via a tunnel under the newly developed stadium.

Venue security took the unprecedented step of making every patron undergo a handheld metal detection test as they entered the ground.

“It’s a pretty scary thing,” Moses told Triple M on Saturday.

“I think it was worse because contact was to my family. When people start to get into your family it’s harder. Couple of text messages and couple of phone calls. It was non-stop.

“It didn’t come through to me. It came to my family. To see them in that situation is not good for any person let alone a footballer.”