Why Mitchell Moses gave up his ticket to watch Conor McGregor to take up his own fight at the Eels
MITCHELL Moses should have been in Las Vegas this week, watching the UFC blockbuster between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Instead, he’s in Parramatta, training on his own.
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MITCHELL Moses has pulled out of a party trip to Las Vegas this week to watch UFC superstar Conor McGregor so he can take up his own fight at Parramatta.
The Daily Telegraph has been told the Eels are attempting to shop the 24-year-old playmaker to rival clubs after a failed attempt to move on halves partner Corey Norman.
But it is understood Moses has no intention of walking out on the final year of his contract and instead has backed himself to prove his worth in 2019.
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That starts by leaving no stone unturned in respect to his pre-season preparations.
Moses’s decision not to head off to Vegas is a clear indication of his intentions.
A stack of NRL players including Moses’ housemate Luke Brooks and good friend Josh Reynolds have made the trip to watch McGregor’s fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
But not only did Moses give up his ticket, he has already started training on his own a month before the Eels are officially due back to commence the summer slog.
Parramatta is set to announce the findings of an independent review into a disastrous 2018 season next week.
One of the most damning conclusions expected to come out of the review is said to relate to the club’s culture and discipline.
It’s no secret the Eels really let themselves down on and off the field this year on a number of fronts.
But it was Moses and Norman who so far have wore the brunt of the fallout.
It is understood that as recently as last week there was still talks going on that Moses might not be at the Eels next season.
It follows an unsuccessful push to get rid of Norman who is on close to $900,000 next year.
The talk is that when the Eels failed in their attempts to get rid of Norman, they turned their attention to Moses to try and save salary cap space.
The official line from Parramatta chief executive Bernie Gurr was that both Moses and Norman have a contract for 2019, which Gurr said the club intends to honour.
In football speak that usually means watch this space, although Gurr would not respond to speculation.
Moses is said to have a good working relationship with coach Brad Arthur.
But that didn’t stop them having a no-holds-barred end of season review where the reality of Moses’ responsibilities were laid bare.
Arthur himself is coming into the final season of his contract and unless the Eels can find a way out of the mess they put themselves in this year, no one’s future will be safe.
The club has already announced Mark O’Neill will take over as the general manager of football and take much of the responsibility relating to retention and recruitment out of the head coach’s hands.
The Eels have already signed Junior Paulo and Blake Ferguson to add to their roster for 2019.
But the biggest issue the Eels confronted this year related to lack of leadership and poor discipline on and off the field.
Moses started this season right in the frame for NSW State of Origin selection but the Eels’ poor form ended his hopes.
Brad Fittler makes no secret of the fact he has a huge opinion of Moses’s ability but the challenge for 2019 is to live up to that potential.
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