The Parramatta Eels are preparing to take on the Canberra Raiders at ANZ Stadium on Saturday 20 May in Round 11 of the NRL Telstra Premiership.
Speaking ahead of the clash with the media, Blue & Gold Head Coach Brad Arthur said new recruit Mitchell Moses and performed better on the training paddock than expected ahead of the Round Eleven encounter.
“He came in on Tuesday, did a little bit of video and I went through some stuff with him and then he trained on Wednesday. It was a full day Wednesday and he probably went better than I expected,” Arthur said.
“I thought we were running the chance of being a bit disjointed and clunky but it was totally the opposite and he came up with a couple of good plays.”
“We play pretty simple, so it wasn’t too hard for him to fit in.”
“It was good having a chat to him because he is very intelligent and he is looking forward to taking control and really having some ownership,” Arthur added.
“He pushes around the footy a lot, runs the footy a lot and plays fast and hopefully we can give him some opportunities through our forward and off the back of our go forward to let him run the footy with a bit of space and time on his hands.”
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The inclusion of Moses comes at a good time, with Norman being ruled out until Round 17 with a knee injury.
“I think he is looking forward to having no pressure on him and taking control of the team. The expectation of him aren’t too high from us, we just want him to come, enjoy his football and play with plenty of energy and carry the ball,” Arthur said of Moses’ role this week.
“It was fortunate because we have been thinking it was going to happen for a while. It has worked out, and pretty important with Corey going down but more fortunate than anything.”
“We have a style of footy that we like to play, and he obviously knows that and that’s why he joined us, so we wont be changing how we play.”
Arthur says the side’s last performance against the Roosters was nowhere near the standard or expectations of the side, and they would be out to make sure they got it right this weekend.
“We had a fair crack on Monday and had another go on Wednesday but we needed to be honest about our performance. It was nowhere near the standard or expectation that we want,” Arthur said.
“We can say it wasn’t complacent, but the facts are that it was. We had 48 points put against us. That is something I need to address and I need to look at and something I need to be better at.”
“I need to look at myself and what we do to make sure we get it right.”
The Eels take on the Canberra Raiders at ANZ Stadium on Saturday 20 May for Round 11 of the NRL Telstra Premiership, kick off at 7:30pm. Click through to purchase tickets to the clash: http://eels.co/2oZJMdS
