Mitchell Moses says the Storm salary cap scandal “broke my heart” at the time, but the Parramatta playmaker concedes he would be celebrating the 2009 grand final just like Melbourne last week if the roles were reversed.
Moses will welcome back halves partner Dylan Brown from a seven-week suspension for Sunday’s clash against St George Illawarra, a game the Eels must win to remain in finals contention. Last year’s grand finalists are in danger of missing the playoffs after consecutive losses, the most recent to a Melbourne team that held a 25-year anniversary last week.
The Storm paraded replica trophies of their NRL titles, including the 2007 and 2009 premierships that were subsequently stripped following revelations they were systematically cheating the salary cap during that period.
The Eels, who were last week’s opponents during the premiership parade at Marvel Stadium, were the beaten grand finalists in 2009. The NRL chose not to elevate them to champion status.
Moses, a lifelong Eels fan, said he was gutted at the time, but harboured no ill will over the Storm’s controversial celebration.
“That was against Parra as well, that kind of broke my heart,” Moses told this masthead.
Mitchell Moses is looking forward to reuniting with Dylan Brown.Credit: Getty
“I was a big Parra fan, in ’09 when that premiership got stripped, it was tough. [But] if the shoe was on the other foot, I’d be celebrating.
“I couldn’t care less what they do. Good on them, you still have to be out there, even if you’re not under the cap it’s still hard to be there at the end of the year.
“If that’s how they want to celebrate, that’s how they celebrate. I would probably celebrate it as well.”
Pressed on if he was offended by the Storm’s celebrations last week, Moses said: “Nah, couldn’t care less. They got caught, that’s how it is.”
Greg Inglis and Dallas Johnson carry out a replica of the 2009 premiership trophy that the NRL stripped from the Storm.Credit: NRL Photos
Of greater concern for Moses is the impact that Brown’s return will have on the team. Brown was sentenced to a Community Correction Order after pleading guilty to two charges of sexual touching without consent, which prompted the NRL to suspend him for seven weeks.
Moses said Brown’s return against the Dragons was a timely one.
“Yeah, it’s big, massive,” Moses said.
“He’s a quality player and before his suspension, he was probably the in-form player in the comp.
“So hopefully he can bring that form back. We don’t really have time for him to ease back in. We need him fit and firing and ready to go. He’s looking good, he’s looking fit and ready.”
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur said Brown had to repay his teammates for his error, a sentiment Moses echoed.
“I mean, if you got suspended you’re probably feeling the same, I guess,” Moses said.
“He just needs to go out there and do his job and not try to do too much. I think if you can go out there with that mentality, it affects your footy. He’ll go out and do his job.
“It was out of his control once the punishment was handed down to him, he just had to cop it and move on. That’s what he’s tried to do.
“We had a little bit of success without him at the start of his suspension and then we hit the wall a bit the last few weeks.
“It’s good to have him back. It’s massive and then we get a couple more players back in two more weeks as well.
“We don’t want him to come in and try to do too much, we just need to come in and do his role good enough and if he does what we need, we should be right.”
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