The destiny of the Eels is well and truly in Mitch Moses’ hands after Clint Gutherson departure

The departure of Clint Gutherson rips the beating heart from the Parramatta Eels, writes BRENT READ, but it also creates the opportunity Mitch Moses deserves to truly own the team.

Clint Gutherson’s departure from Parramatta has finally been confirmed and he will leave a hole. A massive hole.

Coach Jason Ryles has only been in the role a matter of weeks but he has made a brave call that has the potential to define his tenure at the club.

Gutherson has been the Eels’ beating heart for as long as most can remember. The King played through pain and injury, and never let anyone down.

He was the sort of player you could build a club around and the Eels did that for more than 200 games over close to a decade.

The departure of Clint Gutherson (L) leaves the Eels in the hands of Mitch Moses (R).

In all that time, you could count his bad games on one hand. Ryles, though, wanted to move in another direction that involved Gutherson being shifted from fullback, a decision that didn’t necessarily sit well with the skipper or his camp.

Some supporters won’t take the decision well either. Yet club powerbrokers at the Eels, who are often a magnet for criticism, backed their coach and for that they deserve credit.

Time will tell whether they made the right decision but Ryles and the club’s hierarchy are clearly on the same page and that is an encouraging early sign.

As one door closes, another also opens. While Gutherson was the Eels’ captain, Mitchell Moses is their best player and he is expected to take over the armband and assume more control.

Parramatta powerbrokers backed new coach Jason Ryles on his Gutherson call.

Any hope of ending a premiership drought that stretches back 40 years will rest in the hands of the talented No.7, who is entering the prime of his footballing life.

He recently turned 30 and is now an Australian halfback. You could mount an argument that only Nathan Cleary is better at the playmaking position.

He missed a chunk of last season and the Eels struggled in his absence. If he can hit the ground running next year, Parramatta will be a different proposition.

They’ll miss Gutherson, but Moses will dictate by how much. Parramatta is now his club. Moses will decide how far they go.