Luke Lewis says Cronulla lifestyle will bring out the best in Matt Moylan after leaving Penrith
FROM the air-conditioned food court at Penrith Plaza to Cronulla beach, Matt Moylan will get a new lease on life with the Sharks, according to proud Westie Luke Lewis.
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THE calm waters of the Nepean and air-conditioned food court at Penrith Plaza are lovely, but have nothing on Cronulla Beach when it comes to trying to escape the everyday pressures of the NRL.
Luke Lewis is a proud westie at heart, but says he did not properly switch off from rugby league until he ditched the foot of the mountains for the Sharks.
And now he is backing Matt Moylan — the sixth Panthers player in eight seasons to join Cronulla — to appreciate the new surrounds and lifestyle he may not necessarily have enjoyed in Penrith.
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“I love Penrith and always will, and I was never a beach boy,’’ Lewis told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, as he and Moylan visited children at Sutherland Hospital.
“But I remember when I first got out here, the thing I found about coming to Cronulla was you were able to switch off from football.
“When you trained you were switched on and trained hard. But once training is over, it’s easy to get your head away from football, and you can go to the beach, have a swim, cool off, clear your head, go for a coffee, just sit in the sun and relax.
“In Penrith, I thought about footy 24/7, I’d train, go home, and think footy. I’d even go out the back and start kicking the footy. I didn’t know anything different at the time.
“But having time away from football is just as important as being at football as well.’’
Lewis was one of the big-name premiership winners to move from Penrith at the end of 2012 when Gus Gould arrived and started to work through the club’s sloppy salary cap situation.
While “fearing the unknown’’ at Cronulla, Lewis said the switch was the best thing for him, especially when he won a second premiership last year.
Like Lewis, Moylan was a star in the Penrith junior ranks and fan favourite when he burst on to the NRL scene, only to find his time at the club come to an premature end.
Lewis said Moylan would love the Sharks and the change of scenery just the thing he needed.
Moylan, 26, is yet to address the reasons he left the club he captained, but has not wiped the smile off his face since he started pre-season training with Cronulla.
He will love the ad-lib style of play at Cronulla, with Gordon, Lewis and Graham all posting dramatic increases in their tackle busts and offloads during their first season at the Sharks, with Graham and Gordon also more than doubling their linebreaks for the season.
“It’s a good time for him to change and face that next challenge,’’ Lewis said.
“He’s be an awesome addition to our side. He’s as cool as a cucumber, very relaxed and takes everything in his stride.
“I’m expecting a big 2018 from him. He’s got silky hands, a good footy brain, and you don’t have to teach him much.
“He can also play a lot of off the cuff, he likes an offload, he’s an old touch footy players, so that will suit our team. He adds variety and brings that X factor as well.’’
Moylan was part of a swap deal for James Maloney, while Cronulla also recruited Kangaroos centre Josh Dugan for next season’s campaign assault.