Mitchell Moses is not everyone’s cup of tea – neither is Nathan Cleary to be fair. Both polarize opinions for their different styles as halfbacks but the simple fact is – Wednesday night at Suncorp Stadium could be the making and the next step in Moses’ rise in his story.
For Parramatta Eels fans, they’ve been watching Moses cut teams apart at National Rugby League level for many seasons. If you watch him closely, he’s a completely different person to the one that was paraded around Wests Tigers as a rookie and the next big thing when his close mate Luke Brooks was spluttering.
Moses is Parramatta.
Just like Cleary is Penrith.
But the dynamic with Moses at 7 instead of Cleary completely changes everything at Lang Park for Game II.
For all Cleary’s talent and combinations, ability to link with club-mates like Isaah Yeo through the middle or his long kicking game, Moses is a wildcard Queensland should be worried about.
Rugby league, sliding doors, start and end with individual moments.
Your writer was worried about the Blues in the weeks coming into Game I.
Some, only a few, agreed that QLD were happy to defend Cleary in Adelaide.
Basic stuff. Lots of sideways ball-play, long, tall kicks. It didn’t phase the Maroons too much and they trusted themselves in the championship minutes because they knew they’d get away with it.
There’s a thought that Billy Slater is a future NRL coach that will win many premierships and gets into the player’s heads and trusts them.
Gives them game plans.
The Blues haven’t had that.
When Phil Gould coached the Blues, and lucky for him he had some incredible players, he picked the best 17 and found a position for them later.
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One of them was Fittler.
Fittler was always a great performer and sometimes it was at five-eighth, centre or lock.
You just got it done.
Guts is remembered in Origin but talent goes a long way too.
To be honest, Fittler doesn’t have the tactical genius of Gould.
Over the run, his sidekick Greg Alexander hasn’t helped that much either.
In Game I, NSW’s coaching staff let down James Tedesco.
Let down the “Panthers combination” too.
They picked Api Koroisau because he can create behind a losing pack but never game him a chance to attack or lead with the ball at any point in the game.
Payne Haas is the best front rower in the NRL but gave him limited minutes which in-turn gave Koroisau less time to engage the middle third.
Everything NSW did, everything Fittler and Alexander did, fought against the team they picked.
Selected Nicho Hynes on the bench.
We all questioned how he was getting on the field.
Didn’t get a real chance.
Sacked him.
Now it’s on Moses and this is his time.
Those around Moses, back at the Eels, would be reminding him that this is his opportunity to create something special.
Some believe Nathan Cleary is an endangered species – untouchable.
Like Fittler – Cleary needs to be called out.
Moses can create history and stamp his foot on the game and make the next Blues coach forget Nathan Cleary – for enough time to pick Moses ahead of Cleary in 2024.
If Moses can create a miracle.
It goes a long way if Moses can do something incredible.
In a brutally honest world, unless you’re an Eels fan, the rest of NSW is not sold on Moses, yet.
Even now.
If he wins the Blues a series when everything seems lost because of the ineptitude of others, he’ll find himself a big, brand-new group of fans.
Let’s just hope Moses is given the chance.
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