Sharks win the James Maloney-Matt Moylan swap deal, says Craig Gower
PREMIERSHIP Panther Craig Gower believes Cronulla are the big winners from their Matt Moylan-James Maloney swap deal with his former club Penrith.
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PREMIERSHIP Panther Craig Gower believes Cronulla are the big winners from their Matt Moylan-James Maloney swap deal with his former club Penrith.
Moylan’s $3.6 million four-year deal with the Sharks and Maloney’s three-year $2.4 million offer to head west are expected to be announced in the next 48 hours.
Fans in the Shire and at the foot of the mountains will debate who got the better deal all summer, or at least until round seven when the two clubs meet on a Sunday afternoon in Cronulla.
Gower, a Penrith junior who had 12 years in the top grade at the Panthers, reluctantly admitted his club would be worse off without Moylan because of his age and ability to play five-eighth and fullback.
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“Personally I think Cronulla are getting the better deal, just for the fact Matt has so much more time in the game,’’ Gower told The Daily Telegraph.
“Matt is 26 and James is 31.
“Don’t get me wrong, James is still playing good footy for Cronulla, NSW and Australia. He’s got a lot of experience, he’s won grand finals, and he will help Nathan (Cleary).
“But Matt is a great player who will be missed. He plays off the cuff, and as soon as he was no longer playing this season for whatever reasons, I thought our chances were gone then.
“That’s the kind of affect he has on a team.
“He had an indifferent season with injury, and you never know what goes on behind closed doors. It’s hard to play your best football if you’re not getting along with someone.
“Matty can play fullback and five-eighth, he just hasn’t had enough opportunity to stamp his authority at five-eighth.’’
Gower said he had reached out to Moylan via text message to check on his wellbeing, and it was always tough to lose a local pin-up.
For months there had been speculation about Moylan’s inability to work with head coach Anthony Griffin.
As for Cleary’s own development, Gower said the gun No. 7 could not have gone wrong with playing alongside Maloney or Moylan.
Cronulla intend to use Moylan as a fullback. Should he fire, the players will be tempted to chant ‘’three cheers for Gus’’ again like they famously did in the Pepper Stadium sheds after Gould’s criticism of their 2016 triumph being at the end of a ‘’fairly soft competition’’.
However, it was Gould and Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan whose meeting last week made the swap deal become a reality.
Maloney was spotted in Kangaroos camp on Monday taking a quick stroll with future Panthers teammate Josh Mansour.
Wikipedia already had him signed with Penrith in what will be his fifth NRL club.