The Parramatta Eels are set to receive a huge boost with halfback Mitch Moses confident he’ll be fine to take on the Raiders in Friday’s semi-final.
Moses was knocked out while trying to tackle Panthers behemoth Viliame Kikau midway through the second half of last week’s qualifying finals loss and didn’t return to the field.
But the good news is Parramatta’s chief playmaker is feeling much better and even got through light duties as part of the rehab group on Monday morning.
“I feel good,” Moses said, adding he doesn’t need to change his technique.
“Obviously it didn’t look too good. I got my head in the wrong spot and was out cold.
“I didn’t really have any (symptoms). I actually wanted to go back out onto the field. Obviously with how it was, it didn’t look too good so I obviously couldn’t.
“I remembered all the game and I remembered the incident. I didn’t have any headaches so I feel pretty good.”
Moses, who leads the NRL in try assists (22), is unclear what the next few days will look like but he’ll need to pass a few more protocols before he’s cleared to take on Canberra in a do-or-die clash at CommBank Stadium.
He’s confident he’ll be named on Tuesday and says he can only recall one other similar incident during his career.
“I don’t really know. I’m probably the wrong person to ask. Hopefully I can get cleared to play,” said Moses, who noted how well South Sydney’s Cam Murray played after he was knocked out the week before.
“I haven’t had any symptoms, but you’ve got to still pass all the protocols and things like that.
“I had a little one but there wasn’t anything to it. (It was) nothing like that so I was pretty surprised that I felt pretty fine after it.
“I didn’t play the last 20 minutes, so if anything, my body feels fresher. It’s weird. Everyone takes it differently.”
If Moses is unable to play on Friday then the Eels will likely turn to Jake Arthur for the biggest game of his career.
The youngster has copped it from small sections of Parramatta’s fan base but he showed a few weeks ago against Manly that he has the talent and temperament to handle the occasion.
“If Mitch is ruled out, we’ve got full belief in Jake to go out there and do his job, and that’s all he needs to do,” skipper Clint Gutherson said.
“It’s hard when you’re the coach’s son and you’re not Nathan Cleary who’s one of the best in the world. You’re always going to get a bit of stick.”
