Mitchell Moses out for month as broken finger requires surgery

He led the Eels to a massive win over a 12-man Panthers but Mitchell Moses has been dealt a brutal blow in the aftermath.

The Eels are set to lose Mitch Moses for a month. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

The Parramatta Eels are set for a major blow as halfback Mitchell Moses will require surgery after breaking his finger in his side’s 34-10 win over the Penrith Panthers.

Moses booted two 40/20s and led his side in the first half rout as the side took complete advantage of Nathan Cleary’s send off midway through the opening stanza.

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But the win has come at a cost after Moses played much of the game with his fingers taped together.

And the prognosis is reportedly not good after Brent Read told Triple M Moses will be out for at least a month and requires surgery, essentially ending his regular season.

The Eels are sixth but are in a tight group which could either make the top four or miss the eight entirely if results go against them.

The Eels’ final five games include matches against the Sea Eagles, Rabbitohs, Bulldogs, Broncos and Storm in a horror run.

The Eels do have options, including Jakob Arthur and Byrce Cartwright who have played in the halves previously.

Arthur is the son of coach Brad and has copped trolling from so-called “fans” and was booed by a group at a recent home game.

On Fox League, Greg Alexander said the Eels could also move Clint Gutherson to five-eighth, Dylan Brown to halfback and bring in another fullback.

But Cooper Cronk believes losing Moses at Parramatta is bigger than the Panthers potentially losing Nathan Cleary for the remainder of the regular season.

“I think this is a bigger blow to Parramatta than Nathan Cleary to Penrith because the Penrith are set, they’re at the top, they've got their game in order.

“Parramatta last night flexed their muscles and we’re all questioning what their game looks like, can they play their best footy. And Mitchell Moses was front and centre to that. His first half was outstanding.

“Tough run home, they’re going to have to win four of those to be rock solid in the eight, and with no Mitch Moses, that’s a big blow to Parramatta’s hopes.”

Last thing Eels fans wanted to see. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Moses was on fire. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

The Eels victory over the Panthers leaves the side the only team in the competition to defeat the runaway competition leaders, but Channel 9’s Andrew Johns and Cameron Smith slammed the side for taking the foot of the accelerator in the second half.

Former halves coach Johns called the Eels’ second half “terrible”.

“I think (Eels coach Brad Arthur) would realise his team’s not there,” he said.

“Some really good signs, but if they’re going to challenge for a title, we spoke about the word ‘ruthless’. We’ve spoken about how ruthless other teams can be.

“They were on the canvas, Penrith, and they’ve let them back up and given them life again.

“Down to 12 men, when you’re up by 30 at halftime, you want to beat them by 60. You want to make a real statement.”

Smith agreed he believed coach Arthur would be “disappointed”.

“That was a golden opportunity for Parramatta to really refine their footy, to really gain some confidence with ball in hand.

“Those opportunities where we’ve seen Maika Sivo score in the 78th minute, they were there all second half, but they just refused to pass the ball and it looked like they were trying to finish the game off at that scoreline.

“But in those situations playing against 12 men, you’ve just got to be a lot more ruthless and a bit more savage when you’ve got the ball. Penrith ended up winning the second half 6-4.”

Moses was asked about the performance after the match and agreed the Eels couldn’t match the Panthers in the second half, despite being down a man.

“They came out in the second half and they were on fire,” Moses said.

“They were running harder than us and tackling harder than us and it’s a simple game.

“We’re a little bit disappointed. I think we were trying to do it by ourselves in the second half and we just had to find the last tackle, kick to the corners and build pressure, and we didn’t really do that.”

Originally published as Mitchell Moses out for month as broken finger requires surgery