Eels beef up in bid to tame Tigers

SYDNEY: Eels coach Brad Arthur has called in the reinforcements for tomorrow night’s clash with the Wests Tigers with Mitchell Moses, Ryan Matterson and Blake Ferguson all named to return from injury.
Matterson (thumb) and Ferguson (knee) missed last week’s loss to the Sea Eagles with minor concerns, while Moses’s return from a calf complaint is a month in the making after the playmaker went down in round seven.
The return of Moses, who is considered one of the game’s loudest voices, is a huge boost as the Eels look to rebound from a loss to Manly.
Parramatta five-eighth Dylan Brown welcomed the return of Moses at training yesterday after a “few odd weeks” without his halves partner.
“We were a bit lost there (last week) and that was my responsibility, I got a bit too frantic,” Brown said.
“My game is (about) running and that’s what I did on the weekend but way too much.
“It’s a learning curve for me and part of my job. For Mitch to be there he’ll be that controlling half like he always is.”
In-form Eels prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard said Moses’s voice and kicking game had been missed on the paddock.
“We’ve probably been lacking the past two weeks with the direction we want to go.
“Mitch does that really well for us,” Campbell-Gillard said.
“Jai (Field) has done a really good job for us the past three weeks but it’s obviously good to have Mitch back as well.
“Mitch will come back in good nick and we’ll make sure he can put those kicks in the right places and do a job.”
The Eels expect further lip from returning winger Ferguson, who is yet to cross for a try in nine appearances in 2020.
However, the same is unlikely to apply for Matterson, who has been in the spotlight leading into his first clash against the Wests Tigers since walking out last season.
Campbell-Gillard wasn’t expecting the back-rower to bite over recent comments made by his former club. – NRL