Huge call on Mitchell Moses as James Graham responds to 'biting' storm: Good, bad, ugly of NRL Round 23
Parramatta and the Dragons are dealing with turmoil, while the Manly Sea Eagles are soaring.
😃 The good: Anthony Seibold working wonders with Sea Eagles
😔 The bad: Mitchell Moses rumours affecting Parramatta Eels
😡 The ugly: James Graham speaks out on Kyle Flanagan biting storm
Manly surging for embattled coach Anthony Seibold
Manly smartly put contact extension talks on hold as coach Anthony Seibold negotiated a testing schedule of matches earlier this season. After missing the finals last year, Sea Eagles CEO Tony Mestrov was understandably keen to see how things panned out as the club went through a run of five losses in seven games.
Seibold, with a year to run on his deal, was no certainty to be granted an extension at that stage. But three months on, the Sea Eagles boss is building a compelling case to stay on beyond 2025.
Manly has won four of its last five to sit sixth on the ladder. They play the Warriors and Tigers over the next fortnight before finishing with the Bulldogs and Sharks.
Two wins from those four will be enough to make the top eight – and there are plenty of good judges who believe the Sea Eagles will make a genuine run for the title once the finals begin. They are a well-balanced side who can play tough, grinding footy but also entertain and score plenty of points when in the mood.
And they can match it with the best, having beaten competition heavyweights Penrith, the Roosters and Melbourne this year. That should be enough to trigger a contract extension, although we hear those discussions are yet to recommence. It seems a call on Seibold's future will come well after the dust has settled on the 2024 campaign.
Parramatta dealing with speculation around Mitchell Moses
As if throwing away victory against western Sydney rivals Penrith wasn't bad enough, Parramatta continue to deal with speculation over Mitchell Moses' future. The halfback has two years to run on his deal but escape clauses in his contract allow him to look around, should he be looking for a change of scenery.
Five-eighth Dylan Brown has similar clauses, allowing him to stay at the Eels until 2031 if he decides to trigger them. Former South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou argues clauses are great for players but not clubs.
"I just don’t get clauses. I could never get my head around them and never entertained them as a coach at any level and never would entertain them," he said.
"As a game, if we're offering more than a two-year deal, that's a long-term commitment from the club so you would expect a long-term commitment from the player. Clubs don't have get-out clauses and it's really interesting they’ve (Parramatta) got so many players with them."
But the ex-Rabbitohs boss is certain Moses and Brown will both stay and work with incoming coach Jason Ryles to re-establish the club as a finals force. He said: "As a rookie coach coming in, those guys are going to be key to Ryles rebuilding the culture. I think Mitch will be that bloke. I'm sure he will come out and say 'I'm all in'." That's what Parra fans want to hear from you, Mitch.
Kyle Flanagan facing ban for biting Stephen Crichton
James Graham copped a 12-game ban for biting Billy Slater in the 2012 grand final, placing him in a unique position to comment on what Kyle Flanagan is going through right now. The Dragons playmaker is facing a long stretch on the sideline when he faces the judiciary on Tuesday night, accused of biting Bulldogs skipper Stephen Crichton on the nose.
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan vehemently denies his son took a nip but the video evidence suggests otherwise. Graham has unhappy memories of his ordeal and the impact it had on people around him.
"The press, the noise, the vision…it’s not looking good (for Flanagan)," the former Dogs skipper told Triple M. "It's awful being involved in an incident that's everybody's talking about.
"You're front and back (page) and you can't really escape it. It's not a nice position to be in. Anytime something like that's happened to me, I'm fine, I'll get on with it, I'll crack on.
"But it's the impact it has on your friends and your family that have to go into bat for you and have difficult conversations on your behalf. It's just sh*t on your loved ones. It's horrible."
