NRL Trials: Mitch Moses, Nathan Cleary star in Panthers vs Eels trial draw
Star halves Mitchell Moses and Nathan Cleary have put on a show for the bushfire ravaged community on the NSW South Coast in their NRL trial at Bega, finishing in a 22-all draw.
NRL
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Parramatta halfback Mitchell Moses starred for the Eels in last night’s historic trial match against the Penrith Panthers in front of a sell out crowd in Bega, which finished in a 22-all draw.
The ‘Battle of the West’ which is traditionally played in western Sydney was moved to Bega in support of the region after it was devastated by bushfires over the Christmas and New Year period earlier this year.
While there were no competition points on offer both coaches fielded near-full strength sides for at least 60 minutes and the match was played at an NRL level of intensity.
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MAGIC MOSES
The Eels halfback was in fine touch in Bega scoring Parramatta’s first two tries and converting both. While his side struggled with their execution at times, Moses oozed confidence every time he touched the ball and it showed in the tries he scored. First he took on the line, splitting the Panthers left edge defence and then he displayed vision and talent - with a chip and chase to score.
“I really liked his defence, it has taken some convincing with him to do some extra work around his strength training to apply a couple of extra kilograms to get stronger. I thought it showed today, his defence was really good and when his defence is good, I think he’ll find his rhythm in attack,” Eels coach Brad Arthur said.
CLEARY CONNECTION
He was the King of the Kids on the Sapphire Coast so it’s only fitting that it was Nathan Cleary who opened the scoring last night. After being pinned in their own territory in the opening exchanges, the Panthers made the most of their real attacking opportunity. Recruit hooker Api Koroisau and Cleary combined for the first try in positive signs for Penrith’s new look spine. While coach Ivan Cleary is all but settled on his halves combination for round one, rookie Matt Burton and five-eighth contender, who played from the bench last night, showcased his deft kicking to set-up Josh Mansour for a try.
JEAMAN SALMON
Jeaman Salmon was earmarked as a future Eels half but the emergence of young gun Dylan Brown halted his playmaking ambitions. Salmon replaced Brown when the five-eighth was out with a back issue in 2019 but was forced back onto the bench when he returned from injury. Yesterday, Brad Arthur played Salmon at right centre - an insight into how the coach plans to use the 21-year old in season 2020.
“He can play anywhere for us but we wanted to give him an opportunity there with [Brad] Takairangi and Waqa [Blake] out. So it was a good opportunity today to see how he went… and I thought he did a pretty good job,” Arthur said.
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METRE EATER
Panthers fullback hopeful Caleb Aekins is a metre eater. He ran for a record breaking 303 metres in his 2018 NRL debut then went on to average 166 metres in the three games he played in last year and yesterday he ran for 85 metres in the first half alone. With Dylan Edward’s no.1 jumper up for grabs, Aekins, who left a newborn baby behind in Sydney to be in Bega has all but sewn up the position.
“I don’t think he could have done much more, I think he did pretty well. He handled the pressure, he was in the right place at the right time. I think he’ll be able to do the job,” Cleary said after the match.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
Only a curtain separated the two teams in makeshift dressing rooms behind the grandstand at the Bega Recreation Ground and it was a little too close for comfort for the western Sydney rivals. Both teams made sure to hold their pre-game team meeting at their respective hotels before arriving at the footy ground.
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BUSHFIRE RECOVERY
After the overwhelming success of this week’s ‘festival of footy’ in Bega, NRL CEO Todd Greenberg last night revealed he and NSW coach Brad Fittler have spoken about taking a Blues camp into a fire ravaged community.
“This community and others will need more help. This is a big part of our strategy but there has to be more so over the course of this year you’ll continue to see that. I was talking to Brad Fittler and he’s trying to bring a State of Origin team into a training session at some point. You can imagine what that would do to a local community. We’re in it for the long haul. Rugby league is owned by people in these communities, it’s their game and this is our opportunity to give back,” Greenberg said.