Moses Ridicules Brown’s $13M Deal as Galvin Saga Affects Tamed Tigers

O’Brien concerned over sin bin confusion | 05:03

Mitchell Moses showed the Eels what they have been missing and the Knights they may have recruited the wrong guy, while the Lachlan Galvin saga hit the Tigers hard.

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It’s less than a month until the first State of Origin squads are announced which means there representative honours on the line every week now.

The battle for the NSW fullback spot is heating up while Queensland could be forced to pick a new No. 1 after Reece Walsh had a nightmare Round 7.

The Rabbitohs have a halves headache and Melbourne have found out the hard way they can’t just attack their way to the premiership.

Read on for all of the big talking points to come out of Round 7.

MOSES MAKES MOCKERY OF BROWN’S $13 MILLION DEAL IN RETURN

The Eels have been poor this season, but Mitchell Moses proved in his return in the 38-22 win over the Tigers just how important he is to this footy team and in the process made Dylan Brown’s Knights contract look silly.

Moses had 48 run metres, three linebreak assists and four try assists, but it was his kicking game that strangled the Tigers out of the contest.

Phil Rothfield believes if Brown is worth what the Knights are paying him then the Eels are getting Moses on the cheap.

“Mitchell Moses was just sensational,” Rothfield said on NRL 360.

“I’m watching that game and I’m thinking if Dylan Brown is worth $1.3 million a year as a football player, Mitchell Moses is deadset worth $2 million.

“They got beat by 50 last week and he was never going to come back and fix their defence, which has been appalling all year, but the field position, the guidance, the leadership. He was just magnificent.”

Gorden Tallis agreed Moses was the difference between the two teams in a superb first outing in 2025, after returning from injury to inspire his side to victory.

“It all came down to Moses, who hasn’t played a game all year and first game back four try assists and when the game is on the line you want your marquee players to step up and he did that,” Tallis said.

Mitchell Moses was brilliant in his return.Source: Getty Images

“They are a different team with Mitchell Moses in the side,” Braith Anasta added.

“They looked like a totally different team.”

Eels coach Jason Ryles heaped praise on his returning halfback and captain in the club’s best performance of the season so far.

“I wasn’t sure how it was going to end, but he has a presence in our footy team and the way he plays we are a little bit more organised for longer,” Ryles said.

“And his kicking game generally helps us, so he is a quality player and I am glad we have got him.

“His strengths are his kicking game and his ability to organise our attack especially and one thing that goes unnoticed is the work that he does in defence.

“The focus this week was for him to make his tackles and defend well and I think he did that very well tonight.

“But I just think it is his experience and his organisation, especially with the footy and his presence in and around training also gives us a bit of a boost.”

GALVIN SAGA TAKES ITS TOLL ON TAMED TIGERS

Tigers coach Benji Marshall conceded the Lachlan Galvin contract saga has been a big experience for the club and the players, but stopped short of using it as an excuse for their poor showing against the Eels.

The Tigers were right in the contest at 10-10 at half-time, but a three-try blitz from the Eels after the break saw them run away with the game.

The Tigers have had to deal with the fallout from Galvin’s decision to not sign a new deal to keep him at the Tigers beyond 2026, which saw him dropped to reserve grade.

Tigers players were accused of bullying the 19-year-old half on social media, despite denials from Marshall and the club, but the emotional toll of a tough week with plenty of distractions appeared to catch up with the team on Easter Monday.

Sunia Turuva, who was one of the players accused of bullying, lost his cool in the second half when he was sent to the sin bin for throwing Eels hooker Ryley Smith to the ground.

Jack Bird was also guilty of some dumb plays that gifted the Eels field position and tries.

Marshall preferred to keep the review of the game in house, but conceded it had been a week the club want to put behind them.

“It’s been a big week for the whole club,” Marshall said.

Moses Ridicules Brown’s $13M Deal as Galvin Saga Affects Tamed Tigers

“To get out there and try to play is the first part, but I don’t think that was an excuse for some of the things that happened today.

“We’ve got to go back and look at the review of what we need to be better at and then make a decision.”

Tigers skipper Api Koroisau was prickly when asked how the players would respond to the Galvin saga this week, while CEO Shane Richardson even jumped into the press conference amid consistent Galvin questions.

“We’ll get together. We’re here to play footy. We’ve just got to focus on that,” Koroisau said.

BULLDOGS BOLTERS IN FRAME FOR ORIGIN DEBUTS

The Bulldogs are the NRL’s most in-form team, riding a six-game winning streak to open the season and sitting four points clear at the top of the ladder.

As it stands, there are no reasons to doubt Cameron Ciraldo’s team can be genuine contenders in the premiership race.

And with State of Origin fast approaching, two unsung Bulldogs have been floated as potential bolters for the NSW Blues under returning coach Laurie Daley.

Strong form in clubland can often see players rewarded with a representative berth and that could well be the case for Bronson Xerri according to former Bulldogs hooker Michael Ennis.

It would cap off a stunning return to the NRL for Xerri, who was suspended for four years after he tested positive to a banned substance.

“He is knocking on the door of representative footy,” Ennis said.

“If you’re talking about picking the team on form… the form of Bronson Xerri. We know Latrell Mitchell, we know Stephen Crichton, Tom Trbojevic – each of these players absolutely based on what they’ve done in that jersey deserve cracks at it but when it comes to injuries he is climbing closer and closer to putting himself on the doorstep of representative footy, Bronson Xerri.”

Blues centre Stephen Crichton is one of the players who could keep him out of the team, but the Bulldogs skipper told reporters earlier in the month that Xerri has “taken a massive leap” this season “with how professional he is” and added the former Shark is “definitely putting himself in the right direction to be selected”.

Crichton had similar praise for teammate Jacob Preston, who continued his strong start to 2025 with a try, 86 run metres, two tackle busts, a linebreak and 38 tackles against South Sydney.

“Yeah 100 per cent,” Crichton said when asked if Preston could be in the Origin conversation.

“We see the way that he preps at training and the way he plays out here is the way he runs the ball at training too. Just hard to tackle and never leaves a stone unturned. If he keeps playing the way he is and he’s got a really good head on him too, just really process-driven, worrying about what he’s doing here at the Dogs and that stuff will take care of itself. Hopefully he’s in the mix.”

SOUTHS HALVES DILEMMA AMID FORM SLUMP

The Rabbitohs’ 32-0 defeat by the Bulldogs saw them slump to their second straight loss with Wayne Bennett facing a dilemma over his best halves pairing with Jamie Humphreys injured.

Souths have had three different halves pairings in three weeks and even used three different pairings in the one game against the Bulldogs.

Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell started the game in the halves, but Jack Wighton and Lewis Dodd also spent time in the halves but couldn’t inspire any points against the Dogs.

Kieran Foran believes Wayne Bennett needs to avoid chopping and changing halves mid-game where possible because it upsets the rhythm of the side.

“It is tough to play off the back foot as a half, so it’s an area of concern for Souths,” Foran said.

“They don’t have continuity in their halves at the moment and I’m not sure they know what their best combination is and it is something they need to work out rather quickly.

“You don’t want to be chopping and changing your halves throughout the contest.

“It was a tough day at the office and they got beaten and were playing off the back foot, but at some stage I think Wayne has got to settle on a halves pairing and stick with it.”

Michael Ennis believes injuries have cruelled Souths’ chances of getting consistency in their halves and Souths can’t get Humphreys back soon enough.

“Jamie Humphreys picked up an injury pre-Christmas, Cody Walker had a calf injury during the pre-season, Latrell Mitchell picked up a hamstring injury, they lost Humphreys with a hamstring injury and Jayden Sullivan is now out with an injury, “ Ennis said.

“Injuries are really wreaking havoc and you could hear that in the tone of Wayne’s voice (post match) and they are a little bit battered at the moment.

“The best thing Humphreys did was his ability to unlock others and without him they look a little unorganised.

“That’s something that Humphreys brings. He is a genuine No.7. He is an organiser with a strong kicking game. He showed confidence that he could go both sides of the ruck with that long left foot.

“He was able to get their attacking shapes going and unlock their great outside backs.”

James Graham believes Walker is a must pick player at No.6, so it is up to the other players to step up and take the No.7 jersey.

“I think it is about who is going to partner Walker,” Graham said.

“Who out of the three is going to rise above and separate themselves from the three horse race and say I’m Walker’s halves partner.”

However, Ennis believes Humphreys is Souths’ halfback when he returns and called for Mitchell to return to fullback.

“I don’t think it is a question mark,” Ennis said.

“It is pretty clear cut isn’t it? Jamie Humphreys is their No.7. He unlocked Cody Walker terrifically in those first couple of weeks.

“I think Jamie Humphreys is a no-brainer. Unfortunately he has got to stay healthy. That’s the key. Latrell has to go back to fullback.”

Foran agreed defending in the front line is taking too much juice out of Mitchell’s attacking game.

“The defensive load on Latrell going into the front line then takes away from his attacking prowess,” Foran said.

WALSH’S NIGHTMARE RETURN ADDS TO QLD HEADACHES

Reece Walsh has all-but been wiped out of State of Origin Game 1 after the Broncos announced on Sunday the star fullback has suffered a serious knee injury.

The livewire No. 1 had a nightmare in Brisbane’s loss to the Warriors in Auckland on Saturday with his kick-off failure gifting Luke Metcalf penalty a chance to win the game with a 50m penalty goal attempt in the opening minute of Golden Point extra-time.

Walsh was smashed by Kurt Capewell in the opening play of the game and it was clear something was wrong when he pulled up lame chasing a kick on the ensuing set.

While clearly hampered, Walsh managed to see out the 81 minutes, but did so with a heavily strapped knee and periods spent on the wing which restricted him to 50m gained.

The Broncos on Sunday confirmed Walsh has suffered a PCL injury in his knee AND will be out of action for 4-6 weeks.

That time frame means he is highly unlikely to feature in State of Origin Game 1 at Suncorp Stadium on May 28.

While there is still more than five weeks remaining before the State of Origin series opener, Maroons coach Billy Slater will have to announce his team more than a week ahead of the game.

Slater has also previously been firm in only selecting players that are able to train for the full week leading up to Origin games.

The added nail in Walsh’s Origin coffin is that the mercurial gamebreaker has also been hot and cold this season and may have missed selection on form alone.

Kalyn Ponga would likely slot into the Queensland fullback position if Walsh doesn’t play.

The fitness and form of Walsh aren’t the only headaches for Maroons coach Billy Slater as the series opener on May 28 at Suncorp Stadium approaches.

Slater has plenty of concerns on his hand already with star hooker Harry Grant also managing a hamstring injury that saw him withdrawn from the Storm’s Good Friday loss to the Dolphins.

Grant is expected to miss four to six weeks with a hamstring injury.

If Grant were to be unavailable for game one, it would free up a starting spot at No.9 and/or a bench spot.

In-form Bulldogs rake Reed Mahoney and Ben Hunt would be the contenders to replace Grant, who started at hooker in game three of last year’s series.

MORE NRL NEWS

‘YOU’RE BEING TOO HARSH’: O’Brien snaps at journo after another Knights loss

‘IT GETS MESSIER’: Galvin saga erupts as Tigers served legal letter

BIG HITS: Sharks steamroll through Knights’ lacklustre defence as marquee man shines

‘HE FOUGHT THROUGH’: Walsh wiped from Origin as Broncos confirm the worst

HAVE THE DRAGONS FOUND THEIR MOJO?

The Dragons have quietly become one of the form teams of the competition off the back of the form of their big-name recruits.

After back-to-back losses to start the season, the Dragons have gone on to win three of their last four games and quietly creep their way up the ladder.

Bryan Fletcher says coach Shane Flanagan’s hard-nosed approach is paying off.

“They’re on a bit of a roll, they’ve won three of their past four. You can see the impact of Flanno, they look fitter and their defensive structures are going really good,” Fletcher said.

Central to their form has been co-captain Clint Gutherson, who has been a revelation at fullback for the Dragons, notching up 10 try assists, seven linebreaks and 13 linebreak assists in six appearances this season.

Rugby league great Greg Alexander has labelled Gutherson the ‘buy of the season’ so far, and it’s hard to disagree.

“Their key signings have been good, the good sign with ‘Cooky’ (Damien Cook) this week and last week is seeing him run, it gets himself into the game,” Matty Johns said.

“Val Holmes has been very good, Gutho has been great at the back and it’s probably the move that Gutho needed. He organises the defence well.”

“They say change is as good as a holiday, he looks fresh, he looks fit. He’s going what he was born to do, he’s a great leader,” Nathan Hindmarsh added.

Gutherson’s arrival has in turn unlocked speedster Tyrell Sloan, who is reinventing himself on the wing this season as Johns noted.

“The consistency of young Sloan — (Flanagan) rode Sloan pretty hard last year,” Johns said.

The Dragons will get a true idea of where they are at with an Anzac Day blockbuster against the Roosters awaiting them.

DEFENSIVE STORM BREWING IN MELBOURNE

Melbourne had won 79 of their past 80 games when leading by 14 points leading into Friday night’s clash against the Dolphins.

So when they went up 16-2 in the 20th minute it was just about write your own ticket areas.

But what happened next had never happened in Storm history.

Craig Bellamy’s men conceded 40 straight points as the Dolphins ran in seven tries to win it 42-22.

It wasn’t just a loss, it was a shellacking by a team that was sitting 14th on the ladder which led Bellamy to admit their defence isn’t up to scratch.

“We’ve been winning our games off our attack, to be quite honest and we had to stump up defensively because we kept turning the ball over and we just couldn’t do it,” he said.

“It’s a big concern to rely just on your attack. We’ve been a little bit aware of it, that our defence hasn’t been as good as we’d like it to be.

“It’s probably more individuals, to be honest… after the game I thought perhaps it was complacency after getting that sort of start and just putting the slippers on.”

Storm No.6 Cameron Munster agreed their defence had to improve if they wanted to live up to their billing as the premiership favourites this year.

“The last couple of weeks we’ve won on our attack, we haven’t had to defend our line a whole heap,” Munster said.

“We’ve relied on the class of our attack and it’s worked and got us out of trouble, so the learning from us is our defence.

“It’s disappointing but I’m glad it’s happened now and not in the back end of the year. It’s a good wake up call.

“We know we have points in us, so if we can defend really well we’re going to be a very hard team to beat this year.”

BATTLE FOR BLUES NO. 1 JERSEY HEATS UP

Of all the decisions NSW coach Laurie Daley must make before the State of Origin series opener, who will wear the Blues No.1 might be the most intriguing.

Incumbent Dylan Edwards started the year as a heavy favourite, but after an injury-interrupted start to the season, the door may have been left slightly ajar for former captain James Tedesco, Ryan Papenhuyzen or even Tom Trbojevic, whose NRL return with Manly is imminent.

Edwards was his usual workaholic self as the Panthers returned to winning ways against the Roosters on Saturday night.

He scored a late try and threw the last pass for two others, but also came up with a couple of uncharacteristic errors, the first of which led to Roosters points. He finished with a game high 238 running metres.

Tedesco (119 metres) was largely shackled by the Panthers, who squeezed the life out of the hosts in the second half.

“One thing I noticed about Dylan was his energy right from the get go and his willingness to get involved,” Mal Meninga said on Fox League.

“It looks like he’s fit. The little (injury) break has helped him get over those niggles.

“You look at Teddy’s stats tonight and they don’t compare, but if you look at his stats over the year through seven rounds, he’s been amazing.

“If something is wrong with Dylan, I feel Teddy may be looked at but you have someone like Ryan Papenhuyzen as well who has started the year tremendously well.”

Cooper Cronk echoed the sentiment.

“Dylan Edwards was terrific tonight but if you were to go back to Round 2, those stats are probably flipped the other way in favour of Tedesco,” Cronk said.

“I’ve got no interest in helping NSW in any way, shape or form but after tonight you’d have to think Edwards will be the fullback (for the Blues).”

Papenhuyzen has been in sensational touch for the Storm but some defensive frailties could keep him out of Daley’s side on May 28.

EXPERT CALLS ON DES TO MAKE SHOCK TITANS SWITCH

The Titans dropped their third straight game on Sunday in a 30-20 defeat at the hands of the Raiders, and it’s led to an expert calling for a major change to the team’s spine.

Gold Coast were brave in defeat, giving the Raiders all they could handle despite missing star duo David Fifita and Jayden Campbell.

Once again, AJ Brimson played at five-eighth with promising youngster Jaylan De Groot at the back.

Brimson provided two stellar moments, including an epic chip-and-chase try in the first half, while De Groot (181 metres, five tackle busts, two line breaks) was one of the best afield.

However it’s hard to ignore the fact that over the final 60 minutes, the Titans were only able to add six more points.

The lack of output led Michael Ennis to say that if he was in Des Hasler’s shoes, he’d move Brimson to his preferred position of fullback.

“People might think I’m crazy, but the AJ Brimson situation at five-eighth. He just doesn’t look natural as a creator and a ballplayer out on that left hand side,” Ennis said in commentary.

“He’s such a wonderful fullback, he’s always been a great runner of the ball.

“With Keano Kini out of the side for an extended period and as good as de Groot’s been today, I think AJ Brimson may be better going back to the fullback position.”

Halfback Tom Weaver played well in relief of Campbell, earning praise post match from Des Hasler.

The Titans coach didn’t reveal what he’ll do with his halves, but said that Campbell is expected to miss four to five weeks at least, and with Kieran Foran still unavailable, it’s likely Weaver and Brimson will again be tasked with steering the ship against the Cowboys next weekend.

“It’s a challenge for Des with Campbell out for a few weeks,” Ennis said.