NRL 2022: Eels to lodge formal complaint over the Sharks’ sustained attacks on Mitch Moses
Furious Parramatta will go to the NRL after what they believe was a sustained attack on playmaker Mitch Moses by the Sharks.
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Furious Parramatta will lodge a formal complaint with the NRL over the rough-house tactics Cronulla used on gun halfback Mitchell Moses.
And The Daily Telegraph can reveal Parramatta has previously protested to the NRL about the methods applied by opponents on Moses, who weighs 85kg.
The development comes as Moses’ uncle Ben Elias lashed out at Cronulla’s unpalatable tactics, claiming the Eels star player was “targeted” with “atrocities”.
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Eels general manager of football Mark O’Neill will contact the NRL’s head of football Graham Annesley as early as Monday seeking improved protection for the gun playmaker.
Moses blew-up on-field when he copped knees to his leg from Sharks centre Jesse Ramien after scoring a try just before halftime in Saturday’s game at Pointsbet Stadium.
The NSW and Eels general sustained a corked quad.
During the second half, Moses had his legs taken out in the air by Teig Wilton - who was charged for the offence on Sunday by the NRL match review committee - after kicking a ball in general play.
Moses was again incensed and expressed his anger at Wilton.
O’Neill said: “I would prefer not to make any comment other than I will address it with the NRL through the appropriate channels.”
Another well-placed Eels source said: “This isn’t the first time this has happened to Mitchell.”
The Eels are filthy and privately claim Wilton – charged with grade two dangerous contact – should have been sin binned.
Other than O’Neill’s brief statement, Parramatta management didn’t want to comment publicly for fear any criticism may be misconstrued as whinging after a last second loss.
Elias ripped in when asked about the two hits on his nephew.
“Those atrocities aren’t in the laws of rugby league,” said Elias. “It’s Mitch’s wellbeing you worry about. Respect must be shown that players like Mitch will be targeted but don’t cross the line, and it’s a fine line.
“It’s obvious he’s getting all this extra attention, like the great players do. Mitchell isn’t a whinger, he’s far from a whinger, but you have to abide by the rules and protect those star players.
“Look, he’s a targeted man now. The opposition now knows how important he is and when you’re a marked man you get all that attention. It’s as simple as that. You’ve got to try and rattle him as much as you possibly can.
“You’ve got to be in his face every time he kicks the ball. That’s fine but you can’t be going that extra yard where you cross the line of what’s right and wrong.
“That’s why the rules are there – to protect those star players. Mitchell wouldn’t say anything. If you were to ask him he would say that should be left on the football field. But if you cross the line, yet get penalised. That’s what happens in life.
“Mitchell is marked now along with the players like (Kalyn) Ponga and (Adam) Reynolds, they’re the strike players and superstars. I’m glad the NRL acted on it (the Wilton hit).”
Wilton is facing a one to two game suspension depending on whether he fights the charge or lodges an early guilty plea.
Eels forward Ray Stone is facing a fine of either $1000 or $1500 for a grade one dangerous contact charge from the same game. Moses may cop some further treatment this Saturday against a usually physical Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park.
Hynes seals Sharks win after siren
- Martin Gabor
He was forced to watch Cronulla’s first game from home, but new coach Craig Fitzgibbon overcame a “bizarre” week to watch on as Nicho Hynes booted a late conversion to hand the Sharks an amazing 18-16 win over the Eels to celebrate their return to the Shire in style.
Fitzgibbon was a late scratching from the Round 1 loss to Canberra due to Covid, and had to sit on the lounge at home as the Raiders scored late to snatch the win.
But eight days later, the Sharks produced an almost identical play through back-rower Teig Wilton, who bounced back from a couple of costly penalties, to level the scores in the final minute before Hynes converted after the siren.
It wasn’t the relaxed start any new coach would have wanted, but Fitzgibbon won’t care as he chalked up the first win of his career and didn’t even need to waste a half-time spray to help them to do it.
“We did it the hard way, but it was a good experience. I was just proud of the way we played,” Fitzgibbon said.
“It (the half-time message) was pretty simple and to the point. I didn’t go overboard with it. We were in a ding-dong game at half-time so we didn’t need a whole host of messages from me. We just needed to do what we were doing in the first half again.
“I learnt that I didn’t want to be sitting at home watching a game. It was a difficult week. It was bizarre and another curveball of coaching.”
IN THE NICHO TIME
This is why the Sharks spent so much money to lure Hynes from Melbourne.
The former Storm man had missed his three previous shots at goal, but with Prime Minister Scott Morrison waving his scarf wildly, Hynes held his nerve to guide the Steeden through the posts to snatch a stunning two competition points.
Hynes had struggled all night with his kicking game, but his running game was one of the key reasons why they fought back in the second half after the Eels had looked in control thanks to a glut of possession and territory.
The kick alone will make Hynes a local hero for many years to come.
UP, UP CRONULLA
Parramatta knows what it’s like to return home with a big win. Just ask the Wests Tigers who were on the receiving end when Bankwest Stadium opened.
But the blue and golds thought they had crashed the party when Shaun Lane broke free and found Reed Mahoney in support to give his side the lead with 18 minutes to go.
Young gun Will Penisini is still waiting for that breakout performance in attack, but he had a massive moment in defence to chop down a rampaging Siosifa Talakai from five metres out to stop the Sharks from levelling the scores late.
That looked to be the winning moment, but it’s now an afterthought after Hynes’ heroics with the boot helped Cronulla celebrate their first game in the Shire since 2019.
“I was happy with the effort…but we’ve got to be able to close that out,” Eels coach Brad Arthur said, adding Mitch Moses picked up a cork in the loss.
The crowd of 11,459 was as rowdy as ever throughout the game, but they were simply wild at full-time and celebrated in true Cronulla fashion with three renditions of the club’s famous song.
TRY OF THE YEAR
We’re only two rounds into the new season but the Eels have put in a strong contender for try of the year.
Down 8-0 in the shadows of half-time, Mitch Moses jumped into dummy-half and spotted no markers on the last tackle.
The Eels halfback chipped over the top, Clint Gutherson batted it back, Dylan Brown passed over the top and Moses loomed up in support to cross for a try worth a lot more than four points.
“You want to finish the half well, but we weren’t up to our standard in the first half. It probably ended up costing us in the end,” skipper Clint Gutherson lamented.
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Originally published as NRL 2022: Eels to lodge formal complaint over the Sharks’ sustained attacks on Mitch Moses
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