Eels star Mitchell Moses completes stunning return to sink Wests Tigers 38-22 in all-time NRL classic

A returning Parramatta superstar became the second Moses to rock Wests Tigers this season, with Mitchell Moses orchestrating an all-time win to sink Benji Marshall’s men in a wild west clash.

A tumultuous week has ended in more pain for the Wests Tigers as Mitch Moses made a stunning return from injury to lead the Eels to a remarkable victory despite being reduced to 11 men at one stage on Easter Monday.

It’s been a difficult few days for the Tigers after Lachlan Galvin confirmed he wouldn’t be there beyond 2026, and things only got worse at a heaving CommBank Stadium as the Eels produced a second-half blitz to win 38-22.

Parramatta has also copped it to start the season, with the blue and golds coming off an ugly loss in Darwin, but they looked like a completely different team with their general back to lead the side.

In his first game back from a foot injury, Moses transformed their misfiring attack into something dynamic and deadly, with the NSW and Australia No.7 setting up four tries and nailing a clutch conversion at the death.

“He just has a presence in our footy team,” Eels coach Jason Ryles said.

Mitchell Moses (top) orchestrated the incredible victory. Picture: NRL Photos/Gregg Porteous

“When he plays, we’re a little bit more organised for longer. He’s a quality player and I’m glad we’ve got him.”

Moses didn’t do the goal-kicking, but his right boot nailed a 40/20 which led to a Josh Addo-Carr try a few plays later, with fullback Isaiah Iongi also roaring to life with two tries as he enjoyed some extra space.

And while their attack was special, it was an incredible defensive play from Addo-Carr that saved his side with the former representative winger intercepting a pass to deny a certain try which would have made it 26-22 with 15 minutes to play.

Instead, Moses produced one more bit of magic when he put in an audacious kick on the second tackle for Bailey Simonsson to score, before Addo-Carr raced away to seal it with two minutes to go.

“I probably shouldn’t have (put that kick in). I was lucky we came up with that play,” Moses said.”

“We can be a lot better than that. I liked our desperation when we went down to 11 men…I’m just happy we got the result.”

ORIGINAL SIN BIN

The emotional toll of the past week appeared to catch up with the Tigers in the second half when Sunia Turuva saw red and threw Ryley Smith to the ground which sparked a melee.

Turuva was sent to the sin bin and was barking at Eels players as he left the field, with Luca Moretti also given his marching orders.

The Eels were then reduced to 11 men when Iongi was penalised for a professional foul, but they survived the onslaught to seal a famous win.

Turuva tosses Ryley Smith.

The Tigers fell asleep to start the second half as the Eels scored three times in six minutes, but the hosts roared back into the contest and had their chances to win it if they were more clinical in attack.

We’ll never know if Galvin could have changed the result if he hadn’t been dropped to reserve grade, with his contract situation set to dominate every Tigers story this season.

JUSTICE

The footy gods work in mysterious ways, with Wests Tigers fans blowing up over what they thought was a clear sin bin or penalty try when Moses whacked Luke Laulilii as he tried to score in the corner.

They were furious when the tackle only resulted in a penalty, but it only delayed the inevitable as Laulilii pounced on a Jarome Luai grubber from the ensuing set to cut the gap to four points.

Kelma Tuilagi wins a controversial hip drop tackle penalty. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

MAY DAY

Not even a shoulder to the head could slow down Terrell May, with the Wests Tigers prop putting in another herculean performance to enhance his chances of earning a State of Origin debut.

May was whacked in the head from the opening kick-off by Kelma Tuilagi who wasn’t penalised but was later placed on report for a shot that dazed the star prop.

But May brushed off the high contact and continued his incredible start to the season with an enormous first half that included him crashing over next to the posts for his side’s first try of the afternoon.

May finished with 16 runs, 37 tackles, three offloads and didn’t come off in another freakish performance up front.

There was some cruel irony to open the second half when Tuilagi stayed down and won a penalty for a dubious hip drop, with the back-rower making a miracle recovery to score the following set.

“I don’t know if it was a hip drop,” Benji Marshall said, agreeing with Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett that he doesn’t know what the rule is anymore.

Originally published as Eels star Mitchell Moses completes stunning return to sink Wests Tigers 38-22 in all-time NRL classic