With time ticking down in the Eels’ Easter Monday clash with the Tigers and the game in the balance, Parramatta’s talisman Mitch Moses spotted an opportunity.

Just moments later, Bailey Simonsson finished off a perfectly weighted kick from the returning halfback and the Eels sealed just their second victory of a difficult 2025 so far.

Parramatta are still stuck at the bottom of the ladder but at least with their talented playmaker back in the match day side, there’s hope that new coach Jason Ryles can still turn the ship around before another season is lost in Sydney’s west.

Moses’ return to NRL action also comes at a curious time for NSW Blues coach Laurie Daley, who’s back in the hot seat after Michael Maguire, having overseen a famous come-from-behind series victory, found the allure of the Brisbane Broncos top job too hard to turn down.

Origin I is a tick over one month away, with just weeks until Daley and his Queensland counterpart Billy Slater pick their squads for the opening game of the series.

There’s some conjecture over the No.1 jersey and whether Dylan Edwards deserves to keep his spot over the evergreen James Tedesco, but plenty of column inches and airtime will be taken up by the shootout between Moses and Nathan Cleary for the prized halfback spot.

Cleary is a future rugby league Immortal and has proven he’s one of the best halfbacks to ever play the game, with an incredible four premierships already under his belt at the ripe old age of 27 and probably more to come. There’s no way to refute his credentials at club level.

But in Origin, on the biggest stage, Cleary has never produced the kind of performance we saw from Moses after he replaced the unfortunate Nicho Hynes for Games two and three in 2024. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s send-off for an ugly high shot on Reece Walsh may have ended Hynes’ Blues career but it paved the way for the Eels captain to take the reins and take over two Origin contests like no NSW playmaker has since the great Andrew Johns.

Given Cleary’s surprisingly middling form at Penrith, and what happened last year, Daley should stick with the hot hand of Jarome Luai and Moses in the halves. Laui’s form has been mixed since arriving at the Wests Tigers circus on big money but, along with his halves partner, was one of the Blues’ standouts last season and deserves to retain his spot in the team.

Regardless of your perspective on who’s right and who’s wrong in the Lachie Galvin drama, Luai has smartened up since leaving the Panthers and is a match-winner at his best.

NSW Blues coach Michael Maguire talks to Jarome Luai and Mitchell Moses (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

He obviously has tons of chemistry with Cleary and while both would relish the chance to combine again in the sky blue jersey after Luai’s departure from the Panthers, they never showed the kind of deadly combination Luai almost instantly formed with Moses as NSW took back the shield from the Maroons in the Suncorp Stadium cauldron.

The other likely combination for Daley would be Cleary at halfback with Moses slotting in at five-eighth. While it would be a way to include the two best creative players available, as well as two of the best general play kickers in rugby league, Daley would likely be neutering Moses’ best qualities by picking the 30-year-old in an unfamiliar position.

Kalyn Ponga, who will likely wear the No.1 for the Maroons despite his tepid perform at clubland, is fairly safe under the high ball but nevertheless, a Cleary-Moses combination would give the Maroons backline hell with their kicking game. Perhaps Daley could keep that up his sleeve if they lose at Suncorp Stadium, considering Game 2 will be played in the unfamiliar and oval ground Optus Stadium.

There’ll be plenty of discussion regardless of what direction Daley goes for his Game 1 halves combination but a partnership of Luai and Moses will give the Blues the best possible chance of heading west with a crucial victory in Brisbane under their belts.

Cleary by no means should be discarded from Origin consideration but he simply has not produced enough quality when needed in the big moments, a critique that could not be levelled at Mitchell Moses after his tremendous showings in 2024.