NRL 2023: Mitchell Moses opens up on Parramatta Eels contract saga, near Wests Tigers return

Mitchell Moses has lifted the lid on his controversial contract saga, revealing he met with Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall as he considered a Wests Tigers return.

Parramatta half Mitchell Moses has lifted the lid on his talks with Wests Tigers coaches Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall, revealing he was genuinely tempted by the opportunity to work under the pair at his former club.

Sheens and Marshall made Moses their No.1 priority when they were handed the keys to the Tigers, the pair tugging at his heart strings in an attempt to convince him to return to his former club.

Even a pair of Tigers legends couldn’t convince Moses to turn his back on Parramatta. The 28-year-old eventually signed a new four-year deal with the Eels, crushing the hopes of Tigers fans who saw Moses as their long-term answer at halfback.

Speaking for the first time about talks with the Tigers, Moses urged the club’s supporters to keep the faith in Sheens and Marshall.

Mitchell Moses has revealed he considered a Wests Tigers return, before recommitting his future to the Parramatta Eels. Picture: Getty Images.

“What Benji and Sheensy are doing there is going to be good,” Moses said.

“They are probably a bit away from where they want to be at the moment but the past few weeks have shown they can mix it with the best sides.

“They can take a lot of positives out of that, that they are heading in the right direction. I definitely have a soft spot for the Tigers, having played there.

“I wish them all the best.”

THE TIGERS

Late last year, while Moses was at the World Cup with Lebanon, it emerged that he had held a secret meeting with Sheens in England.

At the time, rumours of the Tigers’ pursuit of Moses were beginning to gain traction. Moses, however, insists contracts were never discussed during their conversation.

Instead, he says, the pair talked football.

“We more caught up as mates,” Moses said.

“He was in England at the time. He loves his footy and I love my footy as well. We tried to bounce ideas off each other with what we were doing at the World Cup.

“It was more just a conversation. I have all the respect for Sheensy. I had Sheensy when I was 17 or 18 (at the Tigers) before he left.

“I was excited to work under him then. He left and I didn’t get the chance to.”

Moses also revealed that the club’s recruitment boss Warren McDonnell was a driving force behind attempts to sign him along with Marshall, who will take over as head coach in 2025.

Moses met with Benji Marshall and Tim Sheens as he weighed up his NRL future. Picture: Brett Costello.

“I have known Macca since I was 15 years old and I respect him as a person and a recruitment officer,” Moses said.

“When he called me to see whether I was interested, I went and caught up with him straight away. He was the first person to reach out to me.

“Benji is someone I looked up to when I was younger and I trained with him when I was at the Tigers in the early days.

“I learned so much then. At the end of the day it was very tough to leave Parra. Some of the people there are my closest mates.”

THE 6’s

Of all the people at the Tigers that Moses would have enjoyed being around again, you get the feeling he would have taken the greatest pleasure out of playing with Luke Brooks.

The pair played junior footy together and remain great mates.

“Just to see the footy he has been playing for the last few weeks, I have been so happy to see how he has been playing,” Moses said.

“He cops so much slack from everyone and it is unwarranted. He was definitely a big reason why I even looked into it, he was a big reason why it was a chance.”

That said, Moses can’t speak highly enough of his halves partner at Parramatta. Dylan Brown is having a career year, the combination between he and Moses flourishing despite the club’s slow start to the season.

Moses admits his friendship with Luke Brooks was one of the reasons he even considered rejoining the Tigers.

“Me and Brooksy are great mates away from footy and grew up together but the way the six (Brown) is playing for us, seeing how he has developed from a 17-year-old coming into our squad to now, it has been great to watch,” Moses said.

“He was a big reason why I didn’t leave.”

THE EELS

Moses pulls no punches when it comes to why he stayed at Parramatta. He wants to win a premiership and he can see a group of players capable of doing it at the Eels.

“The players that left us last year probably hadn’t seen the direction we were going and where we were headed,” Moses said.

“It is a shame because we lost some quality players there. They saw a different path for themselves. I see a different path here at Parramatta and that is to win the comp.

“I would love that to happen. It has been a dream since I was a young kid to win a comp at Parra, I can see where we are heading, the direction we are going in.

“This squad we have got, I feel like we can do something. I am really close with the group we have here. Also, when my time is up at Parramatta – I love the club and I supported it from a young age – I want it to be a strong club and if I can help in any way to make that better in the future, I want to do that as well.

“I want to win comps and make sure this club is strong.”

Even a tough start to the year hasn’t dented his faith.

“We had a really tough start to the year with the draw and we knew if we could get through that period with a few wins we would be okay,” he said.

“We honestly should have maybe three more wins under our belt. We have learned some lessons from that. Hopefully we can push into the top four – we need to get into the right first.

“We just need to win games.”

Eels halfback Mitchell Moses. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

THE CRITICISM

If there was a disappointment out of the talks over his future, it was the way he was portrayed by sections of the game and media.

Moses was painted as greedy and selfish for taking his time to strike a deal, even though he was negotiating the most significant contract of his career.

He also had an option in his favour with Parramatta, meaning time was on his side. The criticism left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“I felt like I was being pushed into doing something,” Moses said.

“They had no care factor for me. They were saying he was greedy and giving it to me. I was going to lock myself in for however long and it was a big decision.

“I had another year on my contract – it was an option in my favour. There was no rush for me to take an offer. Nothing dragged out – I still had another year on my contract and I had to make the right decision for myself.

“I would have loved to have done it at the start of the year but that’s not the way it worked out. If it was a young kid – an 18 or 19-year-old – and you have people saying the things that were said, I don’t know how they would have handled it.”