For better or curse: How Moylan went from broken to brilliant
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When Sharks five-eighth Matt Moylan accepted a one-year contract extension for this season, he knew it was effectively a trial to see if new coach Craig Fitzgibbon could get the best out of him.
Moylan played State of Origin for NSW in 2016 so there was never any doubt about his ability but since moving from Penrith to Cronulla he had struggled with injuries and played just 34 games in the previous three seasons.
The 31-year-old’s run of hamstring, calf and quad injuries was such a topic of discussion around the Sutherland Shire that then Prime Minister Scott Morrison called out the fact Moylan had been unable to string more than six games together at the club’s 2021 season launch.
This season Moylan hadn’t missed a game until round 21 and before the quad strain that sidelined him for two weeks, he’s also taken part in every training session.
Matt Moylan winding back the clock
“I was disappointed to miss those couple of games a few weeks ago. Until then I had played every minute of every game,” Moylan said.
Moylan’s halves partnership with star recruit Nicho Hynes is a key reason the Sharks are on the cusp of a top-two finish for the first time since 1999 but while winning the premiership is the aim of every NRL player, his 2022 goals included just being fit for selection each week.
“I have really enjoyed this season and being able to play more,” he said. “You always want to be winning games and playing finals, but it was a focus of mine to be available to play and train each week, and to get that enjoyment back into my footy.
“Obviously when you spend a lot of time on the sidelines, and miss training, it is hard to find the enjoyment in the game that you get from consistently training with the group and playing games with them.”
The key to the turnaround, which has led to a new two-year contract, was a heart-to-heart with Fitzgibbon when he first took over as coach at the end of last season.
While Moylan’s run of injuries was unfortunate, Fitzgibbon questioned whether he could do more to look after his body and prepare for games.
“When we had our first chat, he said he wanted to work with us for a year just to see how it went,” Moylan said.
“That is the reason I signed a one-year contract, which I was stoked to get, to be honest.
"I was coming off some lean years and hadn’t played much footy but obviously there was an opportunity for someone to cement themselves in the halves alongside Nicho.”
Not only did Moylan manage a full pre-season but he has also been doing work away from PointsBet Stadium to prepare himself for training, as well as matches.
“Being able to bank the whole pre-season was really important for me to make sure I was able to cope with playing week-to-week footy and training, as well as playing," he said.
“I was just trying to work on things away from training, as well as here, to make sure I am doing everything right to be in a position to come to training with the body feeling good.
“Until I hurt my quad the other week, I pretty much hadn’t missed a training session all season, or a game, so I have obviously come a long way from where I was a couple of years ago.”
Asked about Morrison’s quip about playing more than six games in a row, Moylan said: “At the time I probably hadn’t, so it is good to be able to string some more games together”.
“Obviously it is frustrating to be injured, you don’t ever want to be on the sidelines,” he said. “When you are missing games, you are open to criticism. Obviously, you want to be playing each week but sometimes it is not the case and I just had a bad run where I wasn’t able to stay on the park.
“I’ve had to put a lot of work into my body and work away from training, as well, and I feel like it is heading in the right direction now.”
