After the Chooks routed the Cowboys 82-12 and Sam Walker scored 36 points (hat-trick tries + 12 goals), it's interesting to watch the media highlight Walker giving sprays to team-mates not making their assignments. Of course when Moses gives sprays, well that's a sign of poor temperament or trouble amongst the playing group.
Who else is sick to death of the Eels being a media punching bag, subject to very obvious double standards?
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Indeed, Walker spraying his teammates was an even greater positive than his 36 points! You could not make up a bigger double standard if you tried
I take your point Daz, but leadership is always subjective.....if Moses was walking the walk at present, I think he would get away with this but the media are no less "fickle" than our own supporter's.
I saw Gutho as a great leader by example, others saw him as a bully. Junior was seen as a Pussy......Sterlo said when asked about his consistency said no one want to go front up to training if Pricey is waiting for a please explain.
Legend has it when Parra forwards were not performing Ken Thornett took 4 of them out the back of the Leagues club and gave them a hiding LOL...... Steve Edge was a great leader during the renaissance and so was Ray Higgs in our first GF periods.
I think Moses is fine but when it comes to history you will find that young Walker will be a great, whereas Moses will always be a "good player"...... of course if he wins a comp, that can change?
Really well put Pops.
There is a difference between being at the top of your game and commanding a side to a thumping win, and yelling at your young, often inexperienced troupes out of pure frustration when things aren't going your way.
A tought and uncompromising leader is a great thing - and all tough and uncompromising leaders will have a streak of tough love in their kit bag. But there's a VERY different circumstance at play - getting stuck into players to keep standards up and be their best selves vs yelling at players out of your own frustration.
Great leaders show emotions to get the best out of those around them. They show the emotions that get results, not the emotions that their brain is trying to get them to feel. Poor leaders show the emotions they feel in the moment - even when inappropriate or unhelpful. Gutho was a 110% effort player, and he was a competitor to the bitter end, but he very rarely if ever showed the wrong emotion towards teammates. Moses, on the other hand, has done it routinely.
We've all had that one boss we're scared of because they were just a straight out bully, and the great boss we loved because they helped us be our best selves even when that meant tought love). There's a big difference.
I think Moses has been one of the best players the Eels have ever had and I adore him as a player, but he is pure uncontrolled emotion on the field and that is not a great leadership quality. Walker to his credit looks more in the design of DCE or Cam Smith - high standards, but nearly always in control of his temperament from what I've seen.
There's nuance to it. I think there's a lot of unfairness in the media towards Parra because it gets clicks, but I don't think the criticism of Moses and his on-field antics are unfair.
Thanks Cappy. You always add value!
I the main driver for the double standard here is wins on the board.
Walker has and id bet will always have, the luxury of being surrounded by elite players, representative players, even when he has a quiet game, or an off game, the players around him through his whole career to date, have been good enough to keep them in the fight or win games, when hes on, those elite players are unlocked even more so. Being the halfback for the Roosters, like with all the top clubs, is a high status position, he was kissed on the arse before hed even played a game. He gets away with dummy spits because everyone knows that the quality of player around him 'should' have caught that ball or ran that line etc.
Moses on the other hand, a skillful player, one of the best in the comp when fit, has played the majority of his career in teams who cant get the win or compete unless every single player plays their best game, nobody around him, and not him has been able to have an off game because the quality of players we have had, for the most part, has been nowhere near the sides regulary run out by the top sides each week. So in his mind, yes that guy should have caught that ball, or ran that line etc, but when he blows up, commentators never expected those players to be able to do so. This ends up with him copping more heat than anyone in his side, and certainly more than walker or any of the roosters.
I used to think the same happened with Hayne. Look what he was able to do and achieve even as he played in objectively some of the worst teams Parra has ever fielded. But he copped flack for being lazy, or disinterested, he was compared to Slater, the same slater that was surrounded his entire career by elite players.
I always used to think, put Slater at the Eels or at the Tigers, as a junior, as a kid. He never would have achieved the status that he did. But put Hayne at the storm in that same time period..the dude would have been a cheat code.
Same now, put Walker at the eels behind the teams that weve had, and Moses at the Roosters for his career to date, or put Cleary at the tigers. The status of all those players would be vastly different.
Theres some brilliant individual players in the NRL right now and theres been some legendary players over the years, but the majority of those legendary players were able to achieve their status because they played in legendary teams, with those players unlocking the full abilities of the team around them, but those teams around them also elevating their own confidence and unlocking their own skills more than what they would have been playing for a cellar dweller.
The really good players lift those around them. Thurston , Johns , even Prince and Marshal , it's no coincidence were able to win comps , they made those around them bettter players. Moses , not so much. Doesn't seem to have the team mentality. Great individual player , poor leader. Not necessarily a bad thing , just not a thing you can build a squad around.
Hayne lifted that 2009 squad way above their abilities and almost won them a comp. That team was in no way qualified to make a GF on paper. John's made a bunch of bush footy players into internationals.
No sorry. Its not double standards daz
All Walker did was call out Mark's name
Moses let go with a few expletives towards Da silva. I think Moses himself would take it back if he could.
Winning silences the noise. It always has.
Moses sprays players when he's playing. Average , Walker sprays players when they're winning by 50+ and he's on fire .
Not remotely comparable .