Interesting 'Bloke in a Bar' podcast with Jordan Samrani talking about Mitch Moses. Samrani discusses Moses' competitiveness, his constant on-field talk and leadership. One quip was that with Moses everything is "like an Origin series", which is an interesting reflection given some on 1EE absurdly doubt whether it's good to have the team captain and chief playmaker be in Origin and Test teams. The very last thing the Eels need is losing contact with cultures of excellence, which Moses obviously brings to the team (per his teammate).
Sorry unsure how to link to the podcast as I cannot locate it on YouTube (easy access) but saw it on Instagram. Link: On Instagram
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Loved this post. Thanks, Poppa!
Moses is 32 and contracted until the end of 2029, or when he will have just turned 35. Assuming I have his current age correct. At that point, there is probably very little to gain from fan discussion of moving on your contracted captain and marquee player (who is getting selected for Origin and Australia no less). I mean what is to gain from that discussion?
I reckon a better discussion is how will the Eels manage late 2028 when Moses presumably becomes a free agent after 1 November 2028? By that time what kinds if moves will the Eels have made to secure his replacement? Will the Eels have avoided what became the Dylan Brown debacle where we had thrown the house at Dylbags including let emerging halves of and then got dumped?
As Moses enters late-2028 the conversation will be either a) retirement as an Eel end of 2029, or b) one more go around, likely one year contracts no matter which club is in the mix? Will the Eels be clear who is coming through after Moses and will the Eels have secured that post-Moses time, whether it's for start of 2030, 2031 or maybe even 2032?
I don't think anyone would argue that Moses is ultra-competitive. That is clear.
It's just not the same as leadership.
Leadership is showing up for people how they need you to show up to be their best. It means you're able to regulate your emotions, to not act on impulse, to not show how you feel.
Moses is competitive and shows exactly how he feels. If you let him down, regardless of who you are, you cop it because he's furious and doesn't control his emotions. That isn't good leadership because for all the people it will work with, there are equal amounts that it won't.
Compare that to truly great leaders who treat different players in different ways during different parts of the game to bring out their best. I think Moses is an amazing player, but he's never shown to be a great leader.
I cannot argue with that Cappy.
When Moses came back after his first serious injury, the perception of him being a messiah was "whole" after he was quickly worked out by the opposition he started to "spit the dummy".
You cannot become enraged if you are a long term leader.....if he was playing for a side like Penrith, Melb or even Roosters where winning is a regular occurence then he could be called a great leader....i.e. winners are grinners!
Some coaches will tell you they may make one or two unintellible rants during the course of a season, after that you lose them.
We this coming year Luai will be an interesting watch in a comparative sense, I think you will see him making many singular moves, hence taking pressure off Moses, if we manage to get Burton as well then it opens a whole new dimension for Moses. Having 3 play makers in the side means you just can't close Moses down and expect to stop Parramatta.....this is one of the crazy parts of letting JAC go, with these playmakers, shit they could do some damage. We would see Moses running the blindside again!
Captain, I agree for the most part. Though we all like to hate him, Cam Smith was famous for remaining calm. Not that he was above a spray. Munster jokes about Smith spraying him all of the time.
But just in 2026 we had Panthers players almost squaring up to each other, Reece Walsh spraying Staggs, Chrichton going off at the Dogs. In the past players like Graham were notorious sprayers. TDS got sprayed by Moses when Eels almost fluffed it to lose vs Cowboys (?) but said it was all good.
Leadership on the field is thus more than the voice of calm. It's also the voice. The constant voice. The talker. That's clearly Moses. And I guess it's also driving standards, running passing tackling kicking etc etc. Which is also Moses.
There is no doubt Moses has become less of a hothead over the years. Recall him spraying Gutherson. And maybe Moses having spent too much time with players missing their assignments doesn't help what is probably a natural temperament to be prickly?
So I gues my point is that while from a calmness perspective he could be better, there are other ways he leads. But I also recall two games in 2026, one where against Tigers Moses gathered the team and called them down to win. Recall the big hurdle in that game where the Eels got down to 11 at one stage. But against Dragons it seemed he let their minds drift and they got punished by clocking off and allowing a field goal. He is by no means perfect
We haven't had a captain for ages .
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