I’m staying, make Gutho next: Moses’ plea to Parramatta

Eels halfback Mitch Moses expects to formally confirm his contract extension at Parramatta in the next few days and has urged the club to turn its attention to extending the deal of inspirational skipper Clint Gutherson.

Moses heaped praise on the in-form No.1 for his leadership and standards being a key reason behind the club’s surge to a 9-1 start to the season.

Moses said he never seriously looked at leaving the blue-and-golds despite interest elsewhere.“It’s at the final stages; hopefully it’s sorted really quick,” Moses said.

“I’ve made it clear I really want to stay here and extend my time here.

It’s in the final stages with my management and the club so hopefully something’s sorted out in the next couple of days.”

The strength of the current squad and what coach Brad Arthur had built were key reasons for his desire to stay put, he added.

“Everyone’s buying in to what Brad’s doing here and what the players are doing here. It’s something I really want to be a part of and really exciting,” he added.

Gutherson is signed through to the end of 2022 but rival clubs can make approaches from November this year for 2023 is the Eels don’t lock him down before that.

“I think Gutho’s the most important one, you’ve definitely got to wrap him up,” Moses said.

“The standards we have at training, it’s pretty much come fromGutho.

“The way he trains, the way he leads us, to see him as a mate and a teammate, to see how much he’s grown in the leadership role he’s taken as a captain is something good to watch and I think Parra should be getting onto that straight away to wrap him up, he’s the next one that needs to bedone.

“Like I said, he’s the one setting all the standards at training and the main reason for the footy we’re playing at the moment.”

Moses also had some praise for his new halves partner, Arthur’s son Jake.

“I’ve seen him leading us out the front in fitness since he was 15 or 16 with Gutho so he was always challenging us from a young age,” Moses said.

“As a group, seeing him debut and not just do his job but do even more was pretty pleasing and something the boys really got a kick out of. We really wanted to get the job done for Brad and his family.”