New rules could suit Eels: Moses

Eels playmaker Mitch Moses hopes the off-season rule changes could largely suit Parramatta's style of play – though he isn't sold on the captain's challenge.

Moses said the club's big and skilful outside backs should be well placed to capitalise on a new rule making it illegal to tackle an attacking player in mid-air as they jump to field a kick, as well as a new option to take a scrum from 10 or 20 metres in from touch, or from the middle of the field.

With three potent long kickers in Moses, Dylan Brown and Reed Mahoney, the new 20/40 rule could also come into play for the Eels although Moses backed his big outside backs to ensure it was rarely needed.

"I'm not sure how we're going to go about it or even if you get many chances at [a 20/40] to be honest," Moses said at Westmead Children's Hospital on Tuesday.

"The way our back five run out of the backfield we get over the 20-metre line pretty quickly. If you're in that situation and you see it, it'd be pretty early. They trialled it at the Nines and you could get it away because there was only four tackles.

"It's exciting and it's going to be good for the game, it opens it up a bit more."

The other rules were more likely to enter the blue and gold game plan, according to Moses.

"The new scrum rule where you get the choice of the 10, 20 or in the middle of the field, that's a big one," he said.

"That's a big one for us, we've got some big outside backs that are real skilful and fast. We'll have to trial it out at training and see where we go and where we feel we play our best from 10, 20 or 50. It will be interesting.

"We've got Waqa Blake and Michael Jennings in our centres who can move and we've added Matto [edge forward Ryan Matterson] this year and he adds another strike on that edge. It will be interesting so we'll have to trial it at training and see how we go."

Blake Ferguson should be well-placed to capitalise on more freedom when fielding attacking kicks, given his size, leaping ability and reputation for knowing the intricacies of rugby league rules.

"Yeah that one's a good one, Fergy when we were training the other day made sure he came sprinting in from the wing and howling at me about that rule," Moses laughed.

"He's very smart, he's not a dumb footballer Fergo, that will really help us. We have such big wingers in Maika [Sivo] and Fergo that can really leap and get in the air so that will be interesting."

Moses said he hadn't put much thought into the captain's challenge yet especially given it's not yet clear how it will work – but his initial reaction was lukewarm and he conceded clubs could look to exploit it.

"I don't know if I like that one," Moses said.

"We put so much pressure on the referees already and if you want to go over their ruling, it's a bit hard, if it's their call it's their call.

"It's almost giving the player a chance to go back at the ref after we get taught so much not to bite at the ref and not to go at the ref. It will be interesting to see how that goes. Gutho might have to open his mouth a bit more!"