Interim Eels coach Trent Barrett hailed Mitchell Moses as “the complete package” as the star halfback returned from a long injury lay-off to snap Parramatta’s run of outs and record their first win since Brad Arthur’s sacking.
Moses, who hadn’t played in almost three months with a broken foot, was sublime in the Eels’ 34-22 win over the ladder-leading Sharks at CommBank Stadium on Thursday night.
His return, which didn’t come in time to be considered for NSW’s State of Origin game one side, ended a five-game losing streak for the Eels and one which cost longtime coach Arthur his job last week.
“He’s a complete package,” Barrett said. “We just wanted him to build his game.
“It’s his kicking game and direction we miss. He’s a dominant personality, that’s why he’s a halfback. We have missed it.
“He was excellent [on Thursday night]. We’ll have to look after him the next couple of weeks because the injury he did have was pretty severe. He’s so important to us, and so is Gutho [co-captain Clint Gutherson].”
Dylan Brown reaches out to score for the Eels.Credit: Getty
From his very first kick of the night, a towering bomb which forced Sharks fullback Will Kennedy to catch the ball inches out from his own try-line, Moses was in control, a panacea for a desperate season which threatened to spiral out of control.
He set up a spectacular second-half try for Bailey Simonsson with a short-side raid and even had a late field attempt cannon into an upright, one of the few blemishes on a night in which Eels fans finally saw some hope.
And if Nicho Hynes can’t nail down the NSW No.7 throughout this State of Origin series, Moses will be waiting in the wings.
“The confidence he brings to the team and everyone in the club when he’s playing, it’s a big thing for him to have,” said Gutherson, returning from his own knee surgery.
“To back it up against the team coming first, it’s a credit to him and how much effort he’s put in away from the footy field to make sure he’s back. Hopefully, it puts us on a bit of a run into the next bye.”
The Sharks threatened to pile more misery on Parramatta when they scored two quickfire tries in the last quarter to cut the deficit to six, but a sweet-stepping Dylan Brown scored a solo four-pointer to put the result beyond doubt.
Eels winger Maika Sivo bagged two first-half tries to vault to the top of the NRL try-scorers’ list, his efforts only beaten by a stunning 95-metre kick return try for the Sharks when Kennedy and winger Ronaldo Mulitalo combined.
It was the third straight week the Sharks had conceded more than 30 points and only five days after they were belted 42-0 by the Panthers.
“It was a flat performance,” Fitzgibbon said. “We got jumped on energy. I thought they put us on the back foot straight off the bat and there were some poor defensive lapses. It was simple stuff. In position, missing tackles, falling over each other and there was just a flat energy there.”
Barrett didn’t use teenage sensation Blaize Talagi, who sat on the bench for 80 minutes as Moses and Brown put on a show. The rookie is off contract and attracting interest from several rivals.
“We were talking about it and it just wasn’t a game we could get him in,” Barrett said. “He’s got a really nasty head gash too.
”I was umming and aahing about whether we would put him in. It’s worked out OK. We didn’t have to use him which was good. It will give his head a bit of time to heal up. His chance will come and he’s part of our 17.”
Mitchell Moses.Credit: Getty