When Mitch Moses signed with the Eels midway through 2017, after a brief settling in period, the Eels entered the finals as arguably the form team in the premiership having won 11 of 14 games since the arrival of Moses. Much of that success was down to the way Moses attacked the defensive line at right angles and at speed off the back of a forward pack that was fiercely spirited if not dominant and the briliiance of Semi Radradra. The combination of Moses and Corey Norman came together in a way that surprised many neutral commentators and excited many long suffering Eels fans that finally, finally we'd found a halves combo that could potentially lead the club to an extended period of success and possibly premiership contention.
Roll forward to the 2018 season and that combination & chemistry that was so obvious in '17 suddenly disappeared so rapidly and so completely that it was hard to remember how great they were just 6 short months previous. There has of course been much discussion and analysis as to why that all changed so rapidly, with the most common theory being that in '17 Mitch was content to blend in with the existing pecking order and if anything underplay his hand, however in '18 he became more assertive in wanting to manage the gameplan, (normally a highly desirable quality in a halfback), but with the unintended consequence of Moses & Norman constantly over calling each other, leading to a team that looked increasingly rudderless as the season from hell rolled on. As has been mentioned in another blog, the only respite the team got from such confusion was when BA moved Corey Norman to Fullback post the bye which resulted in a 6 game stretch which was easily the teams most impressive run of the season, the highlight of which was unquestionably the Friday Night Football demolition of the Top 4 Dragons in which Mitch Moses played arguably his finest game in the B&G.
As a result of the sudden & startling incompatabilty of our two high priced halves, and with two young and talented halves in the lower grades in Jaemon Salmon & Dylan Brown, clearly BA had made the decision that the club needed to move forward with one or the other but not both, and as such allowed the two to test the market despite both having a year to run on their contracts. Essentially BA decided to allow Mitch & Corey to decide who would leave and who would stay, with the result being that Mitch had made it abundantly clear that not only was he not going to seek greener pastures elsewhere, but that he very much wanted to be the Eels long term senior playmaker. Moses determination to stay resulted in Norman moving to the Dragons on a long term deal.
All of which leads to 2019 and what can be reasonably expected of Mitch Moses as the teams unquestioned on field leader. If the scuttlebutt is to be believed, Mitch has long harboured the ambition to have his own team to run, and at age 24 and with 105 NRL games under his belt, he clearly decided that he had done his apprenticeship and it was now his time to take the reins. Publicly BA has already endorsed Mitch as the teams onfield decision maker for 2019, with the obvious, albeit unspoken understanding that Mitch will essentially be on a 12 month audition for the job for 2020 and beyond.
So what qualities and improvements does Mitch need to show to warrant a long term extension for 2020 ?
At what point will Mitch have done enough to justify what would undoubtedly be long term contract extension, (probably at least 4 years in length) with also probably a significant pay rise ?
What areas specifically does his game need improvement ?
Is he capable of the necessary improvements ?
Is 12 months enough time for him to show the necessary improvement ?
The bottom line is that Mitch wanted to be "The Man", to be fully in control of the team. He has got his wish, it's all on him now.
Thoughts ?
Replies
Nicely written post.
My thoughts are that he firstly needs to successfully tread the line between playing to the game plan (if there is one - past few years suggests not) and playing what's in front of him. He needs to use his talent to play with instinct and footy smarts and take individual opportunities as well as organise those around him to get those points on the board. Secondly his kicking game needs to be excellent. Lastly he needs to provide the Eels with the vital on-field leadership that has been missing for so long (sorry Timmy - you're a big panda and we need someone to fire up the boys and not accept a loss as another week of footy).
I reckon he needs to star in a porno, get photographed with known criminals , get caught with drugs, drink drive, piss in a cup for his mate, punch some caarnt, and act like he don't give a rats theeeennn and only then can we think about a long term deal on big coin.
I'm giving you an old-fashioned LIKE...
So let's assume the worst then, that our forwards get pancaked, Mahoney, Salmon & Brown all struggle and our outside backs lack real penetration, what realistic expectations could we then have for Mitch ?
If the worst case scenario happens, can BA make a valid judgement on Mitch's value and the club make the kind of offer that he will undoubtedly want, or do the club let him walk ?
I guess what I'm getting at here what would it take for BA to be able to make a confident decision where Mitch is concerned ?
For mine, the first thing I would need to see from Mitch is a vast improvement in his body language when things are going against us. There's no question, especially at the back end of last year that his demeanour was awful, he looked like a kid who woke up and found out someone had cancelled Christmas. If he's going to be the boss then his emotional control simply has to improve, he can't let a bad kick or a bad pass or an error from a teammate get him down.
Secondly, he simply must trust his teammates more. There were times last year when I thought he simply tried to do too much on his own and his teammates didn't really know what he was doing. Playing what you see is fine, but he has to be sure his teammates are on the same page. That said, it is also incumbent on them to be more aware and to assume at all times that Mitch is going to go off the reservation and to be ready to support. Bevan French I'm looking at you !!!
From a practical skills standpoint, I don't think there are too many things on a footy field that Mitch can't do. If I have to be nit picky, I'd like him to use the short ball to his edge forwards a lot more. In addition, his long kicking could be more consistent, but I think that is more of a function of him managing our sets of six better to put him in better positions to make kicks.
Which segues to the last and I personally think the most important thing I would like to see from Mitch in 2019, and that's his game management. So when we say game management, what exactly do we mean ?
To me great game management is being able to control a game of footy without necessarily actually touching the ball, ala Cooper Cronk in the GF. Having worked as a manager in my professional life for a number of years, the single most important skill is to be able to anticipate problems before they materialize. From a footy perspective, the great game managers can already see in their mind how they want a set of six to pan out from the return of the first tackle, and are able to direct teammates on each tackle in any given set to "connect the dots" so to speak from tackle to tackle within the set to get to a desired spot on the field to be in a position to make the most constructive 5th tackle option possible, whilst still being aware to spot unexpected ooportunities. It is a quality we haven't in a half since Sterlo, and a quality that is most critical in high pressure situations in high pressure games, ie finals. This is the quality that commentators refer to when they talk about when they say a player is an extension of the coach on the field.
If nothing else this season what I want to see from Mitch Moses, and I imagine BA would like to see it as well, is a halfback that has a plan for each set, and each tackle within each set, to get to best possible position to maximise pressure on the opposition.
In other words, football with a purpose.
Agree Brett.
A leader never throws in the towel and will show determination until the end.
Take the cowboys with JT. Arguably the best half in the game, a pack to die for, however they struggled. JT tried all year and never gave up. That's what we need in Mitch and of he can do that it could be the start of something big
To answer your question Brett, if we assume the worst, then BA will be goneski and the other coach will be making the decision on Moses' future. But by then one would hope he has achieved better results than BA.
However there are glaring holes in the roster with the bleeding obvious being only one recognised centre who was woeful last year, the fullback position and generally the spine overall. We appear top heavy in back rowers and wingers. Good luck to the team, and BA who has assembled this roster, if we can make the top 8!
Which is why I asked the original question. It wasn't about our roster per se, or who the coach is, the question is what can we reasonably expect from Mitch this year ?
I think it's unrealistic to expect JT 2.0 from Mitch this year given the roster unknowns, so what is realistic ?
What is the minimum Mitch has to show to be offered an extension ?
There's no question, especially at the back end of last year that his demeanour was awful, he looked like a kid who woke up and found out someone had cancelled Christmas.
That is actually a summary of the entire team Brett.
For mine, Moses is on elite money, quite frankly I want to see it all come together.
Those mid-twenties are when it needs to all fall together for halves. If he doesn't show dramatic improvement this year, I don't think any club is going to take the risk with him. You need halves you can rely on, any nobody is going to pay $600K+ for a half that five years into his career is still a liability, Look at a bloke like Ben Roberts - always promised so much but could not break out of being rocks or diamonds. The big money dried up, he got offered a couple of third-string half contracts and then off to the UK you go. Moses is at that point where he can't be rocks or diamonds anymore. He has to grow in maturity in terms of his game control, his reliabiity and consistency. At this age, he should be realising what works for him and what doesn't and he starts putting building a game that the rest of his team and his coach can rely on. I expect him to make the same progress that Luke Keary made over the past couple of seasons.
I want a MUCH better kicking game. He can kick but he's awfully inconsistent. For me that screams that it's never really been a part of his game that he's worked on, which makes sense given that he was second-string kicker behind LUke Brooks for the early part of his career. I would hope he's doing so many extras on that front it's not funny. And of course, a little bit more and strength so he can be trusted in defence. I'm willing to just see improvement on that front, and I don't think his defence is as bad as many have made out but just continued improvement there will do me.
Moses could very well be Dan Mortimer mk11 if he does not get it all together this season.
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