Matt Moylan gets backing of Trent Barrett, Craig Gower as he struggles with pressure of captaincy

A RIVAL NRL coach, a former Penrith skipper and an ex-Test star have this week contacted Panthers skipper Matt Moylan to say: “Hang tough.”

Moylan got a helping hand from more experienced heads. Photo: Gregg Porteous

A RIVAL NRL coach, a former Penrith skipper and an ex-Test star have this week personally contacted under-pressure Panthers skipper Matt Moylan to say: “Hang tough.”

The Daily Telegraph can reveal Moylan took calls of support from Manly coach Trent Barrett, ex-Penrith captain Craig Gower and former Panthers and Australian star centre Ryan Girdler.

Moylan is remaining Penrith skipper for now, but there are suggestions the Panthers may consider appointing Peter Wallace as co-captain to help ease some pressure on Moylan.

Teammates will also try to help Moylan by volunteering for extra media commitments.

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The easygoing Moylan, 25, has been struggling with the suffocating pressure of leading such a giant Western Sydney NRL club.

And his body language slumped further last week when dropped for off-field ill-discipline.

Barrett, a former Penrith assistant coach, was reluctant to discuss his phone call to Moylan for fear of upsetting Penrith officials.

However, he did admit: “I rang Matty as a mate. I coached Matty for three years at Penrith.

“We have all been in his position during some stage of our careers. It certainly wasn’t with my coach’s hat on — more as a mate.

“He will get through it. He is going through a bit at the moment. He is an exceptional player — it will turn around for him.”

Moylan got a helping hand from more experienced heads. Photo: Gregg Porteous

Gower confronted his own issues when captaining Penrith.

“I went through the same stuff when captain,” Gower said. “It was more of a reach-out to see if he wanted to have a chat and to offer some

support for him.

“I have met Matty a few times and he is a good young kid. At the end of the day, it’s part of learning and obviously the pressure builds because you are losing games. Winning games is the nature of the beast.

“If they’d won on the weekend, all would have been forgotten.”

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Moylan is well liked and respected by teammates and opposition players. He will again come under considerable scrutiny for a spot in the NSW State of Origin side.

Girdler said: “I just wanted to let him know, for what it was worth, that he was the right man to lead the club.

“To let him know it’s a great honour and a great club. This is a test for him at the moment and he’s going to have plenty more in the future.

“He is capable of handling the job and that hope he sticks with it. He’s still young, mate.”

Moylan will lead Penrith in Saturdays big match against neighbours Parramatta at ANZ Stadium.