The whips are cracking and Parramatta captain Clint Gutherson is expecting Mitchell Moses to soar to new levels for the Eels after finally earning his State of Origin stripes for NSW.
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Moses drew mixed reviews for his Origin debut, copping social media backlash from disgruntled fans following the Blues' 20-18 Game 3 loss to Queensland last Wednesday night.
But while some thought Brad Fittler should have opted for the all-South Sydney halves pairing over Moses and Canberra utility Jack Wighton after losing Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai to injury, the coach was happy enough with his new No.7.
As was Gutherson, who believes Moses' state call-up could be the making of the 26-year-old amid reports the Eels are chasing Brisbane's Anthony Milford.
"I thought Mitch had a great game. Defensively he was outstanding, put his body on the line," Gutherson said on Monday.
"To go up to Queensland and be able to stamp your authority straight away in a new team and stepping up to that level in game three of a big series is always going to be pretty hard but I thought he was great and did what he needed to do.
"Mitchell has been knocking on the door for a number of years now and you always see people go to that arena and come back to their club and they're the best player in that team for the rest of the year.
"And that's what we're expecting Mitch and Junior (Paulo) to do because they were great for their state and we need them to be great here again."
Parramatta remain in fourth spot but could be in danger of slipping out of the all-important top four with a series of tough games in the run to the finals.
They face Canberra on Thursday night, then tackle top-four aspirants the Sydney Roosters.
Gutherson, though, said he was surprised as everyone else to see Milford linked to a shock mid-season move from Brisbane to boost the Eels' stocks.
"I'm not really sure what's going on there. I saw it on Instagram last night myself and, look, no one has spoken about it to me," the skipper said.
"Obviously he's a quality player. He's done it at the highest of levels for a long time since he was at Canberra (and then the Broncos).
"He definitely has that X-factor but I haven't spoken to anyone about it."
Australian Associated Press
