Moses hoping to kick-start Eels resurgence after Tigers triumph

If stats are anything to go by, Parramatta were lucky to walk away with two points on Easter Monday, but a Mitch Moses masterclass showed exactly why the Eels couldn’t afford to lose him.

After ongoing contract negotiations have raised questions around Moses’ value to the Eels in recent weeks, the star No. 7 whipped out the playmaking handbook and brought the Eels home at Accor Stadium in a man-of-the-match performance.

Laying on an equal career-high four tries and pulling the strings superbly at Accor Stadium, the 28-year-old's defence-splitting short kicks saved Parramatta from suffering a repeat of last year's Easter Monday upset against the Wests Tigers.

“I just looked up and that’s how it was, I just reacted so it wasn’t really pre-planned or anything,” he said.

“It felt like in the first half we didn’t really touch the ball but we still laid on three tries.

“It was a really weird game to be a part of to be honest. It was one of the games where we just needed to get a win and get out of there.”

With the 2022 grand finalists finishing with only 43 per cent of possession and 11 tackles in the 20-metre zone, compared to the Tigers' 36, Moses said his side walked into the sheds unsatisfied with Monday afternoon’s win.

Despite disappointing losses to the Sharks, Sea Eagles and Roosters in recent weeks, the Lebanon international said Parramatta's Round 6 victory came with mixed emotions.

“We haven’t put in a performance like that the whole year. For the first five rounds we’ve versed some really good footy sides and we’ve been in the contest for the majority of the games, working our backsides off for each other,” he said.

“I thought we did that on the goal line for the majority of the game but there were some lapses there.

I feel like we’ve lost games and played better so we need to be better in that physical aspect of the game.

Mitch Moses Eels halfback

Despite the halfback remaining modest on his six-point Dally M performance, skipper Clint Gutherson was quick to sing his teammate praises, having capitalised himself on one of three crafty Moses grubbers on Monday.

“Me, Dyl (Brown) and Mitch, we’re always trying to chase each other’s kicks and they don’t always work out and it go the other way pretty quickly,” Gutherson said following the match.

“It’s something you’ve got to work on and get a lucky bounce of the ball.

“We’re just lucky it pulled off and Mitch was outstanding tonight and it probably would have been a different result if he wasn’t playing.”

While edge forwards Ryan Matterson and Shaun Lane clicked into gear in their first game back together, the Eels front men will need to be well and truly up for one against their former teammate Reed Mahoney on Sunday.

"It’s a big game and they’ve got some big players coming back as well. There’s a big rivalry between us so they’ll be fired up and they’re coming off a big loss as well," Moses said.

"Reedy’s still close with a few of the boys here and he’s a been playing outstanding footy, he’s obviously the captain there and he’s really taken that with both hands.

"He’s been outstanding and it looks like he’s loving his role at the moment.

"He’s playing great footy so we’ll have to do a job on him...I won’t be talking to him this week."