NRL 360 host Braith Anasta believes “it’s time” for the Eels to make a big call on their captaincy and officially hand the role over to star halfback Mitchell Moses.
It comes after veteran News Corp journalist Phil Rothfield reported on Monday that incoming head coach Jason Ryles was considering pulling the trigger on the leadership decision.
Ryles, who was released from his Storm contract last week, is about to undertake a “major overhaul” of the Eels, which includes moving on current interim coach Trent Barrett.
But as Rothfield told NRL 360, the changes won’t stop there.
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“He wouldn’t talk to me about Clint Gutherson but the manner in which Mitchell Moses has grown this year in the State of Origin arena — when you think about it, the NSW captain Jake (Trbojevic) went off after 20 minutes in each games — Mitch ran the football side,” he said.
“There was a feeling at Parramatta, while a decision has not been made (yet), (of) ‘not just a new coach, let’s give Moses the reins.’
“‘Gutho’ has tried his heart out every single time but I think they do have leadership issues and I think you’ll see Mitchell Moses with the ‘c’ next to his name.”
The move would add even more fuel to the speculation around Gutherson’s future at the club amid reports he may need to move to the centres next season to accommodate young gun Blaize Talagi.
But given Gutherson has already declared he’ll move to whatever position is best for the team, rugby league legend Gorden Tallis believes he’d handle losing captaincy with class.
“I think he’s mature enough that he doesn’t need the ‘c’ beside his name,” Tallis told NRL 360.
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Meanwhile, NRL 360 host Braith Anasta threw his support behind the change in captain, declaring: “It just makes sense. It’s time.”
But James Hooper was quick to point out how it could go wrong.
“It doesn’t come without a little bit of risk factor though because he’s been the captain for a long time, he’s highly popular among the playing group,” Hooper said.
“Yes he’s only got 12 months to go (on his contract) but we’ve seen many players over the years where coaches have decided to in a different direction with captains and sometimes it can put noses out of joint.”
Anasta conceded “there’s no doubt about” Hooper’s concerns but stuck solid on his view that it’s Moses’ time.
“There just becomes a time where I suppose a boy becomes a man and Moses in this Origin series has turned into a man,” he said.
“He’s turning into the man so with more responsibility, Mitch then owns the team and you could see in Origin that brought the best out of him.
“There’s just a time where unfortunately you’ve got to make decisions and with a new coaching coming in, heading in a new direction, I think this is a good call. No disrespect to ‘Gutho’, he’s done a great job, but I don’t see it as a big deal.”
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While on the topic of Moses, Hooper pointed out that the 29-year-old could actually become a free agent again as early as November, 2025 due to clauses in his contract.
“This is another ridiculous deal that Eels management have ticked off on,” he said.
“Last year they trumpeted the fact that Mitchell agreed to a five-year extension with the club. It’s not a five-year extension, it’s a three-year extension (but) in 2027 and 2028 he has player options in his favour… if things do turn pear-shaped at Parramatta, if he wants to he can get out.”
That sparked Rothfield to question whether football manager Mark ‘Buckets’ O’Neill should be in the firing line when Ryles undertakes his overhaul of the club.
“Can I suggest here that Parramatta need a wider clear-out. They’ve got a new coach coming in, it looks like they’re going to get a new captain. What about a football manager? Who is allowing these outrageous contracts to be signed?” he said.
“Their chairman keeps telling me he (O’Neill) is the Frank Ponissi of the west, which is ridiculous.
“They haven’t done very well this year. I think they’ve made a lot of recruitment blunders and they need to be looking at that area of the football club.”
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While Ryles is expected to bring together his own football department, Hooper believes O’Neill’s job is safe.
“To your point on a clean-out I think Jason Ryles is looking to put a complete broom through the place in terms of the support staff,” he said.
“But I don’t think ‘Buckets’ will be touched because the chairman and CEO rely on him for everything in relation to any of the NRL decisions.”
Ryles won’t officially step into the head coaching role until the off-season, allowing Barrett to see out the rest of the competition. But when he does, Hooper fears with the amount of work that needs doing it could be a “poisoned chalice” for the rookie coach.
“It’s impossible to understate the magnitude of the job that Jason Ryles is walking into,” he said.
“Given the situation at that club at the moment with the roster the way that it is, the way that some of the big-name players are on huge-money deals — I think there’s an element of a poisoned chalice there.
“They can’t really do anything in the market until 2026. They’re trying to shop players like Bryce Cartwright, Shaun Lane and Ryan Matterson. But who are they going to replace them with? Because there’s not that much out there at the moment.
“I wish ‘Rylsey’ all the best, I really hope he has success there but it’s a big job.”
Source Agencies
