Can a fit Moses get Parra into finals contention?

With a healthy Mitch Moses, Michael Carayannis and Jimmy Smith think that the Parramatta Eels will be in final contention for the 2026 season.

Under the first season of Jason Ryles’ tenure at the Eels, they improved their ladder position from 15th to 11th, having looked a completely different side when the star halfback was back from injury towards the back end of the season.

In that stretch when he returned from a calf strain in Round 21, Moses helped the Eels win five of their last seven games, which gives Smith and plenty of Parramatta fans hope for what he can do fit and firing.

“The stat that I think is most notable, Mitch Moses; 13 games, seven wins and six losses,” Smith told SEN 1170’s Boys of Summer.

“You get the sense if he plays 24 (games), which is highly unlikely when he’s playing State of Origin, and you (Michael Carayannis) described him as the most influential player on team outcome, but make the semi-finals and certainly if you extrapolate that out, seven wins (and) six losses, you do make the semi-finals.”

And if Moses can manage to play at least 20 games next year, which he hasn’t done since 2022, Carayannis reckons that with their signings of Jonah Pezet and Jack de Belin, they will get them contending for finals once again.

“If they get 20 games out of Mitch Moses, I think they will be happy because they will be in finals contention,” he explained.

“When you look at their side, let’s look at their gains and losses, (they) gain Jack de Belin and Jonah Pezet.

“Jonah Pezet will be six, Mitch Moses will be seven, and Jack de Belin, I don’t know whether he starts at lock or prop; I think he is a shrewd signing.

“250+ games, was good for the Dragons, adds that level of experience to the Parramatta forward pack and can still play big minutes, I think Jack de Belin has a lot to offer.”

The Eels’ 2026 season will begin on March 5 with the Eels once again taking on the Storm at AAMI Park.