Mitchell Moses has backed under-fire NSW coach Laurie Daley and insists he’s ready to help lead the Blues to a series victory on enemy soil – if he holds his place in the side for the decider.
The Parramatta halfback celebrates 250 NRL games in the fixture against South Sydney on Thursday night, which he knows will double as an Origin audition.
While the Blues coaching staff gave Moses until the last moment to prove his fitness following a hamstring injury in time for game two, he knows he is not the permanent owner of the No. 6 jersey.
Some observers, including Matthew Johns, have suggested NSW would be better off bringing back Ethan Strange to partner Nathan Cleary in the halves for the July 8 decider at Suncorp Stadium due to the Canberra five-eighth’s strong running threat.
“I don’t think you should ever feel comfortable wearing the jersey,” Moses said on Tuesday. “There are people injured [and ready to return], people in form, [even if] you win a game, it doesn’t mean your spot is safe.
“That’s why you play it like it’s your last. If Laurie wants to go with me, I’m ready to go.
“If I’m there, it will take everything [to win]. You have to prep yourself mentally and get your body right, and really fly into it – you can’t leave anything to chance.”
Moses has speed and a booming right boot, and is bound to strip fitter for game three considering he had not played in a month leading up to the MCG horror show, which Queensland won 44-24.
One school of thought has it that the extra 10-15 metres Moses gets with his kicks is wasted if the chasers take an eternity to meet Queensland’s back three.
The backlash since the Blues’ defeat has been intense, with plenty of heat directed at Daley.
“I don’t understand it to be honest, and it’s coming from your own people, people who have worn the jersey before, they should know better,” Moses said.
“We should be getting behind Loz as much as possible and supporting him, not bashing him up and beating him down. I don’t want to dwell on it, but to have it from your own people, it’s not good.
“We’ve still got another chance [to win the series]. Anyone can win on their day. You go out there and have a swing.”
Moses raced to 200 NRL games at the start of 2023, but taken another three seasons to reach 250 because of injuries.
To illustrate the player turnover at the Eels during that time, not one player listed to run out against the Bunnies at CommBank Stadium featured in Moses’ last milestone game. Players have either retired, left the club, or are sidelined through injury.
“I felt like I was going to play 400 games when I hit 200,” Moses said. “It’s taken me a bit of get to 250. I had a few injuries, the foot, the pec, a bit of everything. It’s a special achievement. But I’ll probably look back on it and soak it all in when I finish up.”
As he was last week in Melbourne, Moses has been on baby watch, with his wife Bri expecting to give birth to their third child, a boy, at any minute.
The Eels will start favourites, especially after Latrell Mitchell was ruled out after suffering an injury to his calf on Monday.
Souths coach Wayne Bennett confirmed on Monday that Mitchell was expected to be out for up to a fortnight, but there are fears the recovery time could take even longer, which is a huge blow to the Bunnies’ finals hopes.
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