At a time when the influence of NRL player managers is again in the spotlight, there is none more powerful than Isaac Moses.
Upon graduating from Parramatta Marist High School, Moses worked at ANZ Stadium in membership under Todd Greenberg, the future chief executive of the NRL and then Cricket Australia. Moses then moved into player management, initially with other established agents, before branching out on his own.
Why does Moses wield so much influence?
Moses’ Cove Agency manages some of the NRL’s biggest names, from established stars Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks to young guns Lachlan Galvin and Blaize Talagi. He also has a slew of head coaches – including Newcastle’s Adam O’Brien, St George Illawarra’s Shane Flanagan, Manly’s Anthony Seibold, New Zealand’s Andrew Webster and North Queensland’s Todd Payten – on his books.
Does he strike a good deal for his clients?
In a word, yes. A shrewd and ruthless negotiator, Moses has brokered some of the biggest deals across multiple codes. Think Israel Folau’s switches from league to AFL and then to rugby. And then there’s Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s cross-code journey from the Roosters to rugby, worth in excess of $5 million over three years.
Even when he was suspended, the majority of his clients remained loyal and didn’t jump ship.
Why are some clubs wary of Moses?
Wests Tigers are furious that Moses wouldn’t even entertain their offer to extend Lachlan Galvin, who has indicated he will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of 2026.
The Tigers have been here before; Moses previously managed the “Big Four” of James Tedesco, Luke Brooks, Aaron Woods and Mitchell Moses when they were at the club and off contract at the same time. Only Brooks re-signed.
Roosters chairman Nick Politis lobbied ARLC chair Peter V’landys to allow Moses to regain his accreditation. After Moses returned, Politis felt he was blindsided by Suaalii’s defection to rugby and has since refused to deal with the agent.
Famous feud
Isaac Moses famously fell out with associate Joe Wehbe, a property developer known in NRL circles as the “Football Whisperer”. While Wehbe is not an accredited agent, he is linked to a rival agency, Ignite Sports.
Some of the Moses clients who turned to Wehbe for advice, including James Tedesco and Nathan Brown, left Cove for Ignite. Others, like Eels halfback Mitchell Moses – who is Isaac Moses’ cousin – stayed loyal to Cove.
A Supreme Court battle between Moses and Wehbe was settled out of court in 2020.
Keeping their distance
Several clubs – including the Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Warriors and Knights – have been criticised for falling under Moses’ spell. Sensitive to the criticism, in mid-2023 the Sea Eagles took the extraordinary step of publicly releasing a list with managers who had players contracted to the club.
Manly had five Moses players at the time. Other clubs have been careful not to have more than a sprinkling of Moses clients at any one time, fearing it would give the agent too much influence over the club.
