- NRL fans divided over moment in Eels vs Cowboys match
- Young recruit Tallyn Da Silva made a few late errors
Parramatta halfback Mitch Moses was caught delivering an almighty on-field spray to his new teammate Tallyn Da Silva while the match was on the line against the North Queensland Cowboys.
The Eels moved four points clear of last-placed Gold Coast with a stirring 19-18 win over North Queensland at CommBank Stadium on Sunday.
Moses booted the winning field goal with five minutes left to give the Eels their seventh win of the season and help them leapfrog the Cowboys into 13th spot with four games to play.
However, with 10 minutes left in the match and the scores level, Moses exploded at Da Silva after the youngster decided to run the ball himself instead of passing to his teammates.
Parramatta players looked incredibly frustrated by Da Silva’s decision, with Moses caught on camera appearing to yell: ‘Tallyn, you f***ing c**t!’
Following the match, the skipper was asked about the incident by Bryan Fletcher on Fox Sports’ Sunday Night with Matty Johns.
Mitch Moses was caught on camera delivering an on-field spray to his new teammate Tallyn Da Silva in the Eels’ win over the Cowboys (pictured running the ball during the match)
‘Yeah, it happens on the field … was a tense game,’ Moses explained.
‘We’ll learn a lot of lessons from that I think. We’ve got a really young squad at the moment and it’s better to learn the lessons winning the game than having a loss.’
Footy fans online were divided over Moses’ fiery outburst, with some branding him a bully.
‘What p**s-weak leadership from Mitchell Moses. Absolutely pathetic,’ posted one X user.
‘That’s not a leader that’s a bully,’ agreed another.
Others backed the Parramatta captain for his actions.
‘The game was on the line. He is the captain. Did his job!’ posted one user.
‘100% right he was to berate him, he will be better for it and 10 mins later he was celebrating,’ said another.
Moses (pictured right) kicked the winning field goal with five minutes left in Sunday’s game to give the Eels their seventh win of the season
Parramatta have now moved four points clear of the last-placed Titans
Cowboys coach Todd Payten took a cheeky dig at Mitch Moses for diving in an obstruction call that denied his side a late try
On Monday morning, Andrew Voss addressed the incident on SEN radio, saying Da Silva played the ‘worst four or five minutes at dummy half in the history of the game’.
‘I don’t think I’ve seen a dummy half make so many mistakes and errors of judgement in a short period with his team getting in front by one,’ Voss said.
‘The on-field berating by Mitchell Moses… that’s happened plenty of times. (But) It happened three times in five minutes, how do you come back from that?
‘Was it fair game? Mitchell Moses lost his you-know-what. And I can understand it. I can imagine Parramatta fans losing it.’
Cowboys coach Todd Payten took a dig at Moses post-match, claiming that the halfback dived in a crucial obstruction call in the last 30 seconds of the game.
‘I thought the on-field referee got it right. I’ve seen Mitchell dive over the years plenty of times,’ he said.
However, Payten later admitted the call was correct.
‘I always think about putting myself on the other side and I think it was the right call in the end,’ he said.
‘I know Mitchell, he’s cheeky, he’s been doing it for a long time … we just got the execution wrong on that play and that’s the little details that can cost you.’
