The Mitch Moses contract saga continues to be the talk of the town.
The Parramatta Eels halfback is the man of the moment as everyone waits with bated breath for the decision on his future. Will he stay at Parramatta? Or will he head back to Leichhardt? It’s like Ross and Rachel’s on-again-off-again relationship from Friends all over again.
The ongoing drama surrounding Moses is frustrating for all concerned. It’s weird that anyone outside of this situation actually feels like they are owed a decision.
The Eels faithful, the general rugby league public, and us folk who get to report on the game do not own Moses. Nor does he need to rush a call on his future to give us closure or make our lives easier.
Rugby league players just cannot win. They cop crap for signing with another team more than a season out and then get accused of not caring about their current club anymore, with fans demanding that they leave immediately. The poor buggers have tried to do what they think is the right thing by getting the following year sorted and can now focus on their current team, but the pissed-off supporters want them chased out of town.
On the flip side, they take their time before coming to a decision and everyone loses their minds because the waiting is such an inconvenience to them. And they need to know what is going to happen.
I hate to break it to you, but no it’s not, and no you don’t.
The Eels playmaker made headlines this week after getting fired up when questioned why the decision on his future still wasn’t finalised as well as the idea he was being money hungry. Fox Commentator Michael Ennis believes Moses previously saying this would all be sorted before the start of the season has a lot to do with the growing interest.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“I think the speculation has been heightened because of the start of the season comment, and Mitch is at such a big club that has a huge supporter base, he’s in a key position,” said Ennis.
“And he is in a lot of ways the key to their style of footy and their success, so to speak. And, the fact that he had said that he hoped it would all be tied up before the start of the season has brought a real spotlight upon the contract situation.
“Then the fact that it wasn’t done, left everyone to speculate ‘why isn’t it done?’ and ‘what’s going on?’ and ‘how genuine is this decision of him potentially going to the Tigers?’
“I think given Mitch’s reaction the other day, he would like to get it done, so he can just move on and concentrate on footy.”
At 28 years old, Moses is deciding where he is going to finish up his footy career. Not only working out where he wants to spend his final days playing the game he loves but also where he wants his legacy to end and who he will hopefully win a premiership with.
And (now I know this may be hard for some of you to believe) but he also has a life OUTSIDE of football. So he is also deciding where he wants to live, where he wants to raise his family, and where he wants to call home.
Then, of course, there is the topic of the almighty dollar.
There has been a lot of speculation surrounding what offers are actually on the table for the halfback, with whispers that the Eels have offered around $1.1 million per season for four years, while Moses’s old club the Wests Tigers are waving $1.3 million per season over five years under his nose to lure him back.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
“Sometimes, particularly for these long contracts at the back end of your career when there’s so much more responsibility in your life – you have mortgages, you have families, your life changes, you need to make sure that you’re spending the time to make sure it is the right decision long term. And that to me is what it sounded like for Mitch,” added Ennis.
“The money obviously plays a significant part in that. But I think the big part of it also is your happiness. When you’re happy and you’re in an environment that you’re happy in, your side is playing well, and you’re playing well, then everything in your life seems to have a little bit better balance.
“I think that’s sort of where Mitch’s decision looks like it’s at potentially at the moment, where the money I would imagine might be marginally different from the offers, but the bottom line is, he’s weighing up where he’s going to be his happiest, and where he’s going to have the best balance to be able to be the best footy player, but also to be the best person that he can be for his responsibilities, whatever they are in his private life.
“And it’s a tricky one that sometimes can’t just be a decision that’s made overnight.”
Talk about pressure. I can take ages staring at what’s in our freezer at home to work out what I’m going to defrost for dinner – I have no idea how long it would take me to make a call on a potentially life-altering decision that affects my family on such a scale, and involves millions of dollars. Although the pressures of picking the right meal for everyone’s tastebuds every night can be daunting.
But I digress.
Taking everything into account, Moses has until Round 10 to decide if he is going to take up the option to remain at Parramatta or not, and I say he can use every second of the time available to him if he chooses to.
When it’s all said and done, Ennis believes Moses will remain in the blue and gold.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
“I always said I think he stays at Parramatta. Just seeing his and Brad’s (Arthur) relationship, seeing just how much he’s grown over the last five or six years and just where the squad is at the moment.
“The pain of losing a grand final, there’s no more motivation than trying to turn that around as a club and as a group of players and staff to try and win one together. Yeah, I think he will stay at Parramatta.”
So if everyone could just stop, take a deep breath and realise this is much bigger than any of us. Yes, Eels fans will be sad if their beloved halfback moves on, Tigers fans will be disappointed if they miss out on bringing him back, and the rest of us will have to find something else to talk about.
In the end, it actually has nothing to do with anyone else outside of Moses’ immediate circle and the decision will have no real significant impact on our lives.
Mitch, if you happen to read this, take all the time you have to pick the right path for you and your family, and I hope you can block out all of the noise surrounding your decision and enjoy playing in your 200th NRL game tonight. The call on your future will still be there in the morning, so just relax, go out there and do what you love.
And just to make you feel better, I will also be relaxed while watching the footy tonight, as I didn’t have to have to make any life-changing decisions regarding our dinner knowing we were having leftovers.
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