Parramatta skipper Mitchell Moses has served up some tough love to mid-season recruit Tallyn Da Silva as the Eels escaped with a 19-18 win over the Cowboys to complete NRL Round 23.
Injected into the game by coach Jason Ryles in the 55th minute with scores locked 18-18, Da Silva certainly made an impact.
Alas, it was often for the wrong reasons with two handling errors, a missed tackle and several poor options.
During a dramatic final 25 minutes, the 20-year-old rake seemed to be on a different page to his playmaking captain as the Eels sought to ice the game—much to the visible displeasure of Moses who gave Da Silva both barrels with verbal sprays on multiple occasions.
MORE: ‘Brain explosion moments’ holding Leniu back, says former NSW star
‘Oh boy’
In one particularly explosive moment with ten minutes to go, television cameras at CommBank Stadium appeared to show Moses screaming obscenities after the young hooker inexplicably ran the ball on the last tackle rather than engage his playmakers as the Eels attacked the Cowboys line.
“Oh boy, he’ll get a conversation from Moses for that,” Michael Ennis said for Fox Sports in the understatement of the afternoon.
Fortunately for Da Silva, the Eels went on to win 19-18 after a last-ditch Cowboys ‘try’ was ruled out for obstruction.
Post-match conversations between Moses and Da Silva will be interesting to say the least.