Parramatta playmaker Mitchell Moses has set his sights on surpassing the mercurial feats of Tim Smith in the Eels record books as the blue and golds turn their attentions to going deep into the NRL finals.
Moses has endured a rollercoaster 12 months. Last year told he was told by the Eels he was free to negotiate with rival clubs before delivering on his significant promise to guide Parramatta to a strong position with September on the horizon.
The No.7 has been instrumental in last year’s wooden spooners’ climb up the ladder in 2019 and has come up with 29 try assists – more than any player in the competition, according to Fox Sports Stats.
In a sign of the significance of the feat, it is the equal second most by an Eels player since statistics began being kept in 1999.
Only Smith, who produced arguably one of the most brilliant individual seasons in recent memory in 2005 when he set up 40 tries, has more.
With three games remaining and every chance the Eels will play several finals matches, there’s no reason why Moses can’t break the long-standing mark.
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur said Moses and teen halves partner Dylan Brown had struck up a balance since the 19-year-old came into grade this year.
“It’s low on mileage in term of how many games they’ve played together, there’s still some work to be done there,” Arthur said.
“But the good thing about Dylan is he has good composure and he’s happy to sit back a little bit and let Mitchell run the team and then he injects himself when he needs to.
“At the moment the balance is good for us.”
The Eels are shooting for five successive wins when they meet Canterbury at Bankwest Stadium on Thursday night.
Sitting in sixth spot, they could move into fourth if they beat the resurgent Dogs, South Sydney lose to Brisbane the following night and Manly fall against Canberra.
“We haven’t talked about it but we hope each of the individuals have a burning desire to play well, play finals and finish as high as we can. It’s not something we’ve discussed,” Arthur said of the side’s top four chances.