Eels Blogs

Moses Contract & Captaincy

NRL 360 host Braith Anasta believes “it’s time” for the Eels to make a big call on their captaincy and officially hand the role over to star halfback Mitchell Moses.

It comes after veteran News Corp journalist Phil Rothfield reported on Monday that incoming head coach Jason Ryles was considering pulling the trigger on the leadership decision.

Ryles, who was released from his Storm contract last week, is about to undertake a “major overhaul” of the Eels, which includes moving on current interim coach Trent Barrett.

But as Rothfield told NRL 360, the changes won’t stop there.

“He wouldn’t talk to me about Clint Gutherson but the manner in which Mitchell Moses has grown this year in the State of Origin arena — when you think about it, the NSW captain Jake (Trbojevic) went off after 20 minutes in each games — Mitch ran the football side,” he said.

“There was a feeling at Parramatta, while a decision has not been made (yet), (of) ‘not just a new coach, let’s give Moses the reins.’

“‘Gutho’ has tried his heart out every single time but I think they do have leadership issues and I think you’ll see Mitchell Moses with the ‘c’ next to his name.”

The move would add even more fuel to the speculation around Gutherson’s future at the club amid reports he may need to move to the centres next season to accommodate young gun Blaize Talagi.

But given Gutherson has already declared he’ll move to whatever position is best for the team, rugby league legend Gorden Tallis believes he’d handle losing captaincy with class.

“I think he’s mature enough that he doesn’t need the ‘c’ beside his name,” Tallis told NRL 360.

Meanwhile, NRL 360 host Braith Anasta threw his support behind the change in captain, declaring: “It just makes sense. It’s time.”

But James Hooper was quick to point out how it could go wrong.

“It doesn’t come without a little bit of risk factor though because he’s been the captain for a long time, he’s highly popular among the playing group,” Hooper said.

“Yes he’s only got 12 months to go (on his contract) but we’ve seen many players over the years where coaches have decided to in a different direction with captains and sometimes it can put noses out of joint.”

Anasta conceded “there’s no doubt about” Hooper’s concerns but stuck solid on his view that it’s Moses’ time.

“There just becomes a time where I suppose a boy becomes a man and Moses in this Origin series has turned into a man,” he said.

“He’s turning into the man so with more responsibility, Mitch then owns the team and you could see in Origin that brought the best out of him.

“There’s just a time where unfortunately you’ve got to make decisions and with a new coaching coming in, heading in a new direction, I think this is a good call. No disrespect to ‘Gutho’, he’s done a great job, but I don’t see it as a big deal.”

While on the topic of Moses, Hooper pointed out that the 29-year-old could actually become a free agent again as early as November, 2025 due to clauses in his contract.

“This is another ridiculous deal that Eels management have ticked off on,” he said.

“Last year they trumpeted the fact that Mitchell agreed to a five-year extension with the club. It’s not a five-year extension, it’s a three-year extension (but) in 2027 and 2028 he has player options in his favour... if things do turn pear-shaped at Parramatta, if he wants to he can get out.”

That sparked Rothfield to question whether football manager Mark ‘Buckets’ O’Neill should be in the firing line when Ryles undertakes his overhaul of the club.

“Can I suggest here that Parramatta need a wider clear-out. They’ve got a new coach coming in, it looks like they’re going to get a new captain. What about a football manager? Who is allowing these outrageous contracts to be signed?” he said.

“Their chairman keeps telling me he (O’Neill) is the Frank Ponissi of the west, which is ridiculous.

“They haven’t done very well this year. I think they’ve made a lot of recruitment blunders and they need to be looking at that area of the football club.”

While Ryles is expected to bring together his own football department, Hooper believes O’Neill’s job is safe.

“To your point on a clean-out I think Jason Ryles is looking to put a complete broom through the place in terms of the support staff,” he said.

“But I don’t think ‘Buckets’ will be touched because the chairman and CEO rely on him for everything in relation to any of the NRL decisions.”

Ryles won’t officially step into the head coaching role until the off-season, allowing Barrett to see out the rest of the competition. But when he does, Hooper fears with the amount of work that needs doing it could be a “poisoned chalice” for the rookie coach.

“It’s impossible to understate the magnitude of the job that Jason Ryles is walking into,” he said.

“Given the situation at that club at the moment with the roster the way that it is, the way that some of the big-name players are on huge-money deals — I think there’s an element of a poisoned chalice there.

“They can’t really do anything in the market until 2026. They’re trying to shop players like Bryce Cartwright, Shaun Lane and Ryan Matterson. But who are they going to replace them with? Because there’s not that much out there at the moment.

“I wish ‘Rylsey’ all the best, I really hope he has success there but it’s a big job.”

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Phil Gould backs Gutho over Talagi

League legends Phil Gould and Paul Gallen have expressed doubt of Blaize Talagi's future move to fullback as Jason Ryles begins to put his fingerprints on the Eels squad.

Talagi is currently in contract negotiations with reports he could take over as Eels fullback in the future, moving Clint Gutherson to the centres.

19-year-old Talagi has been one of the bright sparks for Parramatta in a disappointing season, however he could be lost to the club if they're unable to secure a deal for him.

Gould believes if he does stay at the club, it won't be an easy ride for him if he was to play fullback.

"You look at tries that are scored from close range, generally they're targeting the fullback that's on the line and that's where Blaize Talagi is going to have some issues," he said on Nine's 100% Footy.

"He's going to have some issues organising the defence, until he learns his craft over a period of time."

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For Gutherson, the Eels captain's next position could play a role in his future contract too with the 29-year-old able to listen to offers from November 1.

Gould believes he should be staying at fullback as opposed to Talagi taking over.

"I don't think he's (Talagi) a fullback, I've seen him play fullback, I just don't think he is," he said.

"He's exciting with the ball in hand, he can score tries, he can back up, he's got a neat step and if he gets the ball with a bit of room to move he can make people miss but there's a lot more to playing fullback in the modern game than just being a smart ball runner.

"I think he'd be a very effective outside a couple of really creative halves playing in the centres, I think that's mostly where he's played his football.

"You could play him at five-eighth I guess at a pinch but they've got a pretty good half and five-eighth there at the moment. I wouldn't be playing him fullback, I certainly wouldn't be moving Gutherson from fullback in that side at the moment."

Gallen added he'd be a "bit dirty" if he was Gutherson and Talagi moved into fullback.

The Sharks legend went on to express his doubt as to whether the teen sensation is up to the modern demands of the position.

"Fullback's a big job in the NRL these days, it's probably one of your most important positions on the field, it's part of your spine," he said.

"I know you don't make a lot of tackles but your first defensive line, you've got to get your defence right, everyone looks at the fullback straight away, he points and tells you what part of the field to go to, I don't know if he's any good at that.

"It's a big job in the NRL these days, for a young guy to come in and expect he'll just do it, I don't know. I don't know how good he's going to be at it."