Brad Arthur has insisted Mitchell Moses return from a foot injury next week is not guaranteed as the struggling Eels slumped to yet another defeat without their injured halfback.
Moses, who is in a race against time to return against Melbourne at Magic Round next week, might only have one game before NSW coach Michael Maguire sits down to pick his first State of Origin side, which is highly unlikely to include Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary.
Parramatta Eels take on the Brisbane Broncos in Round 10 of the 2024 NRL Premiership at CommBank Stadium, Parramatta.
Cleary aggravated a hamstring injury and couldn’t finish the Panthers’ win over the Bulldogs on Friday night.
Down the road, the need for Moses has never been more evident after a vastly improved Eels butchered a number of gilt-edged opportunities in a 30-14 loss to the Broncos at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.
But Moses’ return from a broken foot in time for Magic Round won’t be known until later in the week – even if the Blues are crying out for another halves option.
Asked if Moses would be back a week earlier than initially expected, Arthur said:
“He’s trying. We won’t know until he has a bit more bit of a run over the weekend. He’s doing his best [to play next week].”
Missing Moses and co-captain Clint Gutherson, the Eels were always going to need a clinical performance to beat the Broncos, who profited from two long-range tries in the first half immediately after Parramatta dropped the ball on the attack.
Deine Mariner bagged two tries and Reece Walsh scored one and set another up for Selwyn Cobbo with a scintillating kick after Brisbane rode their luck to a 10-point half-time lead with barely a play-the-ball in the opposition red zone.
“I thought Parramatta played some good footy and were a bit unlucky a few times,” Broncos coach Kevin Walters said. “They could have crossed the line with different things.
“But when we had to score, we sort of picked up some points, which was very helpful.”
Parramatta’s teenage fullback Blaize Talagi, who is yet to sign a long-term extension at the Eels, looked dangerous in attack deputising for Gutherson, but also made a couple of crucial errors in the wet conditions.
But for as much promise as he showed, and while Dylan Brown had his best game in the No.7, the reality is the Eels have won just once in six games since Moses went down with injury. They’re now 13th on the ladder and will likely finish the weekend three points outside the top eight.
“We created a lot of opportunities,” Arthur said. “We just didn’t ice them or finish them off. But I like the style of footy that we were playing. I liked how we played [on Friday night].
“When one of those balls bounces our way and it sticks for us, we’ll get that confidence. Like the boys just said, if they keep coming like that, it’s not that far away.
“But we know that we need to win.”
Brisbane centre and NSW hopeful Kotoni Staggs was placed on report for a lifting tackle.
