{"id":758238,"date":"2026-06-25T00:35:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T00:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/758238\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T00:35:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T00:35:36","slug":"paul-crawley-1-3m-moses-double-standard-in-latrell-debate-andrew-johns-push-exposes-blues-origin-debacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/758238\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Crawley: $1.3m Moses double standard in Latrell debate; Andrew Johns push exposes Blues\u2019 Origin debacle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why doesn\u2019t Mitchell Moses cop the same tough questions over the value for money he is giving Parramatta compared to the criticism constantly directed at Latrell Mitchell?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a legitimate debate ahead of Thursday night\u2019s clash between the Eels and Rabbitohs, where Moses is set to play his first club game since round 11.<\/p>\n

Watch every game of every round of the NRL Premiership LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Latrell has been absolutely hammered these last few days in the wake of his latest injury setback.<\/p>\n

Everywhere you look there is a debate going on questioning whether the Rabbitohs superstar is still worth marquee money.<\/a><\/p>\n

But if we\u2019re going to judge Latrell on the bang for buck he provides the Bunnies, surely we should be having the exact same conversation about Moses.<\/p>\n

I did the sums this week and was stunned by what I found.<\/p>\n

Based on their reported salaries compared to the number of games they have played since the start of the 2024 season, Moses has effectively cost Parramatta about $123,000 a game.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Latrell\u2019s deal at Souths works out at roughly $100,000 a game.<\/p>\n

While Latrell is reportedly on around $1.1 million annually, Moses is listed to be on $1.3 million.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/p>\n

Matty\u2019s verdict on shock Dogs switch.. and Galvin move he loves \u2014 NRL Talking Points<\/a><\/p>\n

Ex-NRL beasts\u2019 touching Arrow moment as NAS beatdown opens door to Gal blockbuster<\/a><\/p>\n

Joey\u2019s blunt response to Blues coaching call \u2014 NRL Daily<\/a><\/p>\n

Latrell Mitchell suffered a calf injury at South Sydney training.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n

That means the player earning $200,000 more per season has actually provided less value for money based purely on availability.<\/p>\n

Yet despite all the criticism aimed at Latrell, I haven\u2019t heard a whisper about whether the Eels are getting value for money from their captain.<\/p>\n

It only strengthens the argument that Latrell is often judged more harshly than other players for whatever reason.<\/p>\n

While Mitchell has copped it from pillar to post, the stats show Moses has actually played only one more game than Latrell since the start of 2024.<\/p>\n

Latrell has been limited to nine games this year because of a back injury.<\/p>\n

He was expected back this week only to suffer a related calf injury at training on Monday that is expected to rule him out for another month.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Moses has played 11 games so far after missing a large chunk of the season with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

Debate of Latrell’s value reignites | 03:11<\/p>\n

His only appearance over the past five weeks was for NSW in State of Origin II.<\/p>\n

Then go back and look at the previous two seasons.<\/p>\n

Moses managed just eight games in 2024 and 13 games in 2025.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 21 club games across those two years.<\/p>\n

In that same period, Latrell has played 22 games _ 11 games in 2024 and 11 in 2025.<\/p>\n

Yet one player is routinely labelled injury-prone while the other largely escapes the same scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Another factor worth considering is that Moses is already 31 and contracted until the end of 2029 after recommitting to Parramatta at the start of last year.<\/p>\n

Latrell is still only 29.<\/p>\n

And on the subject of giving bang for their buck, let\u2019s also look at the impact both players have on their team when they actually get on the field.<\/p>\n

Despite moving from fullback to centre, Mitchell\u2019s attacking numbers are still off the charts.<\/p>\n

In his nine games this season he\u2019s scored 116 points, crossed for 11 tries, produced seven try assists, 10 line breaks and 10 line-break assists.<\/p>\n

In comparison, in 11 games Moses has 61 points, one try, seven try assists, one line break and 11 line-break assists.<\/p>\n

Again, this is not a criticism of Moses who is a champion halfback and makes a huge difference when he is available for the Eels.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m simply highlighting how influential Latrell continues to be whenever he is on the field.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not arguing that Latrell\u2019s injury record shouldn\u2019t be part of future contract discussions.<\/p>\n

But if we\u2019re going to question whether Latrell deserves marquee money, let\u2019s at least apply the same standards to other star players.<\/p>\n

All the latest on Latrell injury hit | 02:01<\/p>\n

FORGET JOEY, IVAN\u2019S THE MAN NSW NEED NEXT YEAR<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve noticed in recent weeks how Penrith coach-in-waiting Peter Wallace has been caught on several occasions banging on the glass window of the Panthers coaching box at crucial moments during games.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare that you see an assistant coach sitting alongside the head coach showing such raw emotion, especially when Ivan Cleary is sitting beside him in his typically reserved manner.<\/p>\n

This is certainly not a criticism of Wallace.<\/p>\n

If anything, it suggests to me Penrith\u2019s succession plan is already well underway.<\/p>\n

Which brings me to the point I want to make here.<\/p>\n

The NSW Rugby League should move heaven and earth to try and get Cleary to coach the Blues next year.<\/p>\n

This week yet again the debate has centred on another former champion player who has never coached at the elite level in Andrew Johns.<\/p>\n

In fairness to Joey, it was Matty Johns who threw up the idea before Andrew shot it down.<\/p>\n

The game\u2019s eighth Immortal said in his Sydney Morning Herald column: \u201cIt would be incredibly selfish for me to pursue, because it\u2019s such an unknown.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd really, do NSW want to take a punt on someone with such limited experience, who has no experience at all of what it\u2019s like to be a head coach?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never coached before. I\u2019ve never had any ambition to coach. And I haven\u2019t suddenly been struck by a burning desire to do it either, which I think you need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joey should be applauded for his honesty.<\/p>\n

But it also highlights the ridiculous position NSW finds itself in.<\/p>\n

Why are we continually debating former champion players with little or no coaching experience when the most successful coach in the game today _ who also happens to have the best relationship with NSW\u2019s star playmaker _ is sitting right under our nose?<\/p>\n

It absolutely does my head in that current NRL coaches are not allowed to coach Origin or the Kangaroos.<\/p>\n

‘If Joey does it’: Matty’s Blues offer | 07:00<\/p>\n

Yet we expect clubs to release their best players for representative football while the best coaches are automatically excluded.<\/p>\n

With all indications this will be Laurie Daley\u2019s final series, it would be madness if Cleary is not given first crack at the job.<\/p>\n

And you\u2019d think Ivan would jump at the opportunity to help Nathan produce his best football and put this Origin argument to bed once and for all.<\/p>\n

For all the criticism Nathan still receives about his Origin record, no one understands his game better than his father.<\/p>\n

And no one knows how to build a team around his strengths better than his old man.<\/p>\n

If NSW is serious about getting the most out of its champion halfback, why wouldn\u2019t it want the coach who has already guided him to so much success at Penrith?<\/p>\n

The timing could also be perfect when you factor in Wallace has already been anointed as Cleary\u2019s successor for 2028.<\/p>\n

Why not at least ask the question?<\/p>\n

As much as I would love to see Johns have a crack at coaching Origin one day because it would make for unbelievable theatre, NSW has already rolled the dice on former champion players with limited coaching experience through both Daley and Brad Fittler.<\/p>\n

Surely it\u2019s time to go in a different direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Why doesn\u2019t Mitchell Moses cop the same tough questions over the value for money he is giving Parramatta…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":758239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-758238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}