Mitchell Moses skips birth of first child for Parramatta Eels final

A Parramatta Eels star has made the ultimate sacrifice for his team by missing out on the birth of his first child on Friday.

Mitch Moses missed the birth of his first child.

Mitchell Moses made the ultimate sacrifice for his team on Friday, electing to miss the birth of his first child to line up in Townsville.

The Parramatta Eels star put the team first with a Grand Final spot on the line and his decision paid off with the Eels securing the 24-20 victory.

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Moses and the Eels flew up to Townsville on Thursday with Bri begining contractions on Thursday night. Bri gave birth to a baby girl on Friday but Moses made the huge sacrifice to stay in Townsville for the game.

Fox League’s Yvonne Sampson said: “It’s a huge decision for any player to make – to miss the birth of your first child or to play in the biggest game of your career.”

Cooper Cronk said it was “the most important day of Mitch’s life, he’s got football and family coming together all in one day.

“Now there’s the added pressure of having his first baby coming into the world today. If he can’t do it today, he’s probably never going to do it.”

Moses spoke about the unbelievable day he had on Friday and revealed he met his daughter on FaceTime.

“The whole week has been a rollercoaster. I lost my grandmother last week and we laid her to rest on Monday,” Moses said on Channel 9.

“I’m welcoming my first child over FaceTime for the first time deadset four hours ago and now I’m playing in a Grand Final next week.

“I’ll be getting the boys on the plane as quick as possible so I can go meet my little one. We’ve got two names but she didn’t want to make the call by herself so she’s waiting for me to get there and then we’ll make the call.”

The Eels will play in their first Grand Final since 2009. They haven’t tasted ultimate NRL success since way back in 1986.

The couple announced the news earlier this year.

The couple’s first child was a little girl.

Moses was spotted cradling a ball in the change rooms and Broncos legend Gorden Tallis joked it was as if he was pretending to hold a newborn baby.

“When he was holding the footy it looked like he was nursing something already,” Tallis said.

“Sitting in the sheds and he was practising already.”

NRL legend Johnathan Thurston questioned the Eels’ decision to fly up only the day before the game.

“They’re well and truly here for a hit and run mission,” Thurston said on Channel 9’s 100% Footy this week.

“Just get the game done, and get the win and get out of here — I would have been bringing the team up (earlier) to try and acclimatise.

“The days are hot, and it’s a humid night as well.

“They will struggle, and we’ve seen that in Darwin when the boys played at the start of the year against each other, but the Parramatta side are a totally different side to that game.

“Playing in Townsville, you’re used to the travel — that’s what you’ve got to do when you live up here.”