‘That was real class': Why Mitchell Moses reminds Eddie Jones of an English rugby legend

The Age22-04-2025

Moses returned from a foot injury to play his first game of the season, and was sensational in the 38-22 win over the Wests Tigers on Easter Monday.
He finished with four try assists, including the kick for Simonsson, and a cutout ball for Josh Addo-Carr's first four-pointer.
But Moses' defining moment came in the 54th minute, when Tigers winger Sunia Turuva and Eels forward Luca Moretti were binned for their part in a melee that had spilled over the sideline at CommBank Stadium.
Moses gathered the Eels playing group into a huddle and urged them to stay composed. The Tigers players were scattered across the field, with nobody looking or talking to each other.
Jones said of Moses' leadership at that crucial stage of the game: 'It was going to be [interesting] how both teams responded to what had just happened … which team could get their focus the quickest. And that was Parramatta under Mitch. He gave them the drive and direction.
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'Mitch's ability to get the players together and work together, they kept fighting for each other.
'With Mitchell coming back, you could also see the quality of Rylsey's coaching coming through. You need someone on the field who coaches and runs the team how you want them to be coached, and Mitchell does that. If you don't have that, it's really difficult.'
Five-eighth Dylan Brown was arguably the biggest winner from Moses' return, and relished the return to his running game rather than steering the team around the park. Seeing Brown run for more than 160m and relish the freedom, however, must have been on Newcastle's minds after they paid $13 million over the next 10 years for him to run the show like Moses.