The contract extension hasn’t been ticked off just yet but Eels halfback Mitch Moses says he’s “agreed” to a new deal to stay at the club after he helped Parramatta to a much-needed win over a Wests Tigers side which desperately tried to sign him.
According to reports, he has signed a deal to stay with Parramatta until 2028, but nothing official has come from the club just yet.
That led to a bit of confusion from fans but Moses was fairly clear on the matter when asked about his future, saying he hadn’t signed yet but that he’d agreed to terms.
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It’s an encouraging bit of news for an Eels side which got back to its winning ways against the Tigers, although you wouldn’t have known afterwards, with players and the coaching staff feeling flat after the 28-22 result.
“It was a bit upsetting,” Moses said.
“I know we just had to get out of there with a win. I thought we were fully in control at 22-6 up and then had some silly errors and then we went away from playing footy.
“We need to fix that up, but I felt like every time we got down there we put points up, so there wasn’t a drama there. We just need to be better.”
That was Parramatta’s second win of the season with their draw set to become a whole lot easier after a brutal stretch to open the year against some of the NRL’s heavyweights.
The Eels lost three games by four points and another by eight, while they edged the Panthers in a golden point thriller to salvage something from the opening five rounds.
The weird thing was they probably played better in those losses than they did against the Tigers, with the winless battlers almost springing a monumental upset thanks to an epic second-half comeback.
“It was a really weird game to be a part of. It was one of those games we just needed to win and get out of there,” Moses said.
“I feel like we haven’t played like that all year and we’ve lost games before and played better. We need to be better in that aspect.”
Eels skipper Clint Gutherson said his side wouldn’t have won if Moses hadn’t played, with the star halfback earning a maximum six Dally M votes for his four try assists against his old club.
There was a sense of irony that Moses was the difference against the side he left in 2017, especially given the Tigers made no secrets they wanted to bring him back next year on a mega deal.
But Moses says that’s ancient history as he prepares to take on the Bulldogs this weekend – another club which was reportedly in the hunt for his signature.
“It’s a while ago but we’re still talking about it. I think it’s seven years ago now,” he laughed.
“They gave me my debut and they kick-started my career off, so I owe a lot to the club.
“They were very good to me, so it’s a bit weird playing against them, but I’m just happy we got the win over them.”
