Eels fans desperate for good news should read no further because star halfback Mitchell Moses looks like he will spend even longer on the sidelines.
The NSW and Australian representative had already been targeting Round 6 as his comeback from foot surgery but due to complications he is now looking at another two or three weeks after that and with the way Parra’s season is spiralling, they could be well and truly out of the finals race by then.
Moses told Nine during the broadcast of the 32-6 loss that the injury was “taking its time”.
“It’s a bit frustrating. I can only control what I’m doing for the boys, helping out at training. Hopefully it’s another five or six weeks (but) hopefully I’m back sooner rather than later.”
Ronald Volkman has replaced him in the No.7 jersey for their losses to Melbourne and the Wests Tigers but much has been made of five-eighth Dylan Brown’s inability to step up as chief playmaker in Moses’ absence.
He was heavily booed by Eels fans on Sunday at CommBank Stadium in his first appearance for the club since announcing he was switching to Newcastle on a 10-year deal reportedly worth as much as $14 million.
Asked what he thought of the treatment of Brown from the coaches’ box, coach Jason Ryles said: “I can’t hear it up there, it’s pretty soundproof.
“But that’s footy, that’s just emotional fans and they’re passionate. Potentially that’s the way they feel.
“It doesn’t change the way we feel and how we think of him.”
Brown was well and truly upstaged by opposite number Galvin, who has been linked to the Eels as a potential replacement for the New Zealand international.
“There’s a lot happening around him (that has to go right) before we can critique his performance too much,” Ryles said.
Canberra teammates Morgan Smithies and Hudson Young have received breach notices from the NRL for brawling in a Las Vegas elevator, but are not facing suspension.
In accordance with rules implemented with the league’s latest collective bargaining agreement, the terms of any breach notices are not disclosed until pleas are entered by those cited.
But AAP has been told breach notices issued to Smithies and Young on Monday proposed only a $2500 suspended fine for each player, not a ban or up-front financial penalty.
The fine is suspended for 12 months pending any repeat offences.
The Raiders have also opted against issuing their own sanctions to the pair over the incident, which took place late last month at the team hotel in Vegas.
The NRL on Monday said the players “engaged in conduct which has brought the game and their club into disrepute” ahead of the round-one games in the US.
At the time, Young and Smithies both fronted the press to apologise for the incident, which took place when one of them was left without a room on return from a night out.
Hudson Young celebrates scoring a try. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Warriors assistant coach Richard Agar has received a three-match ban and $10,000 fine for allegedly choking a journalist at the NRL’s showpiece event in Las Vegas.
The NRL issued Agar with a breach notice on Monday following the incident that is alleged to have happened on game day at Allegiant Stadium on March 2.
Half of his fine will be suspended pending any further offences, with Agar unavailable to serve on Andrew Webster’s coaching staff for upcoming clashes against the Sydney Roosters, Wests Tigers and Melbourne.
He has been barred from travelling with the Warriors to the second of those two matches in Australia.
Agar, who previously coached Super League sides Hull FC, Wakefield Trinity and Leeds Rhinos, will also be required to undertake “appropriate education and training”.
The Englishman has five business days to respond to the breach notice
According to the reporter in question, Agar confronted him backstage at Allegiant Stadium, where the Warriors lost 30-8 to Canberra in the first game of the season.
Agar and the reporter are believed to have known each other from the coach’s time working in England.
The English-based journalist had been on site to cover matches between Super League sides Wigan and Warrington, and the England women’s team and Australia.
Agar previously worked with Webster on Samoa’s coaching staff, and joined the NRL club for the Warriors head coach’s first season at the helm in 2023.
Melbourne are hopeful Nelson Asofa-Solomona can escape another ban to line up for their grand final rematch against Penrith with the Storm enforcer still “burning” about missing last year’s title decider.
The NRL heavyweights clash on Thursday night at AAMI Park with the hosts coming off a second-round bye while the Panthers suffered a shock 38-32 loss to the unheralded Sydney Roosters.
Melbourne are looking to make amends for last year’s 14-6 grand final loss, when they badly missed the presence of the banned giant prop.
Completing his five-game suspension, Asofa-Solomona turned out for Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Queensland Cup on the weekend, but was put on report for a hip-drop tackle which could see him again miss taking on Penrith.
Halfback Jahrome Hughes said it would be disappointing for Asofa-Solomona and the Storm if he was unable to play, with the forward to learn if he’s charged on Tuesday.
“It’d be a bit of a blow if he can’t play in this match,” said Hughes, who will line up for his 150th Storm game.
“We’re hoping we get him for this week – he deserves to be there, he’s done a lot of hard work in the pre-season and he’s still burning from missing out on last year’s GF (grand final) so he’s really hungry to get back on the team.”
Hughes said he was excited to see Asofa-Solomona team up with new front-row recruit Stefano Utoikamanu to lay a platform for the attack.
“I’m very excited actually, very promising to have those two boys in our team and I guess someone like myself, I would love to see the go-forward to get good play-the-balls and make my job a little bit easier.”
While Melbourne started the season with a 58-18 pile-on against Parramatta, the Panthers were uncharacteristically poor in their Roosters loss.
But Dally M Medallist Hughes said the Tricolours hadn’t done them any favours.
“We can’t bank on Penrith having another off game, we know that they’re going to turn up, they’ve been turning up for many years now so we’re just trying to focus on ourselves and how we turn up on Thursday night,” the 30-year-old said.
“They don’t have many bad games in a row so I think they’re going to be up for this week’s game.
“It’s probably a good thing, we want to test ourselves against the best and they’re the best at the moment so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
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