Mitchell Moses set to return from injury for blockbuster clash with Rabbitohs

Parramatta halfback Mitchell Moses is tipped to return from injury this weekend and he will have his work cut out to get his side’s stuttering season back on track.

The star playmaker sustained a minor fracture in his back in game three of the State of Origin series and hasn’t played for the Eels since the close loss to Penrith a month ago in round 16.

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While Moses has been recovering on the sidelines, Parramatta has defeated the Gold Coast Titans, narrowly lost one of the games of the season to the Canberra Raiders before being thrashed 28-0 by the Roosters on Friday.

Jakob Arthur has filled in at halfback but the return of Moses to the No. 7 jersey will be a welcome sight for Eels fans.

The Eels sit fourth on the NRL ladder and desperately need Moses to work his magic to add a much-needed ruthless edge in attack and organise a defence leaking points.

It won’t be an easy task though — four of Parramatta’s final five games of the season are against teams in the top eight, including clashes with South Sydney, Melbourne and Penrith.

Coach Brad Arthur has all but confirmed Moses will return to the Eels’ line-up for Friday’s blockbuster match against the Rabbitohs.

Mitch Moses is set to return for the Eels this weekend in a much-needed boost. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)Source:Getty Images

“I’m pretty sure that he’ll be right,” Arthur said.

“It’s important to always have your best players on the field.

“I’ve been told it’s around giving it a couple of weeks to settle and pain tolerance. He’s done movements in the gym, a full weights session.”

Mitch Moses is hoping to return for the Eels in Round 21, 3.5 weeks after suffering a transverse process fracture in his back. Thankfully these fractures aren’t as bad as they sound; whilst extremely painful most are considered functionally stable. Usually a pain management issue

Moses’ return will be a welcome sight for Parramatta fans who are craving more playmaking and try-scoring power against the top teams in the battle for a top-four finish on the ladder.

“We’ve go to make the most of our opportunities,” Arthur said.

“Playing against teams that are all fighting for spots, whether that be in the eight or in the (top) four or a top-two spot. So when any of those opportunities that do become available, we need to take them.

“Our situation for the majority of the year is we leave too many tries out on the field. We’ve got to ice those moments. When we put ourselves in the position to score, we’ve got to score those tries.

Parramatta is desperate to regain some momentum after a horrible loss to the Roosters. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)Source:Getty Images

“We’ve put ourselves in a position that it’s up to us now to finish in the top four. It would be nice to finish in the top four.

“Whatever we get come finals time, it’s going to be on the back of what we do now because everything is in our own hands. We play all those teams so we control own fate.”

The Eels will be hoping to turn in a more disciplined effort against the Rabbitohs after they gave away several needless penalties against the Roosters in a lacklustre display.

“It was disappointing, we played pretty dumb at times and did some pretty silly things on the field,” Arthur said after the loss.

“I thought the effort was there.

“I know the scoreline doesn’t reflect that it, but when you put yourselves under that much pressure with some of the dumb things that we did, not playing as a team.

“When we play as a team, majority of the times we can win those games but I just thought we played as individuals tonight and did some dumb things.”

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