Ben Elias has revealed a text he sent to his nephew, Mitchell Moses, following the Eels’ crushing NRL grand final defeat to the Panthers.
“Just keep your chin up, keep your chin up,” Elias told Wide World of Sports.
“Mate, it happens. You got there. Fifteen other clubs didn’t. So, congratulations. You had a good year.”
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Moses and his teammates had a chance to break the Eels’ 36-year premiership drought on Sunday night, but they lost to the Panthers 28-12.
Regardless, Moses had steered the Eels to a top-four finish and their first grand final since 2009.
“He can hold his head up proud. He had a great year. The reason Parramatta were there was largely because he participated,” Elias said.
“He’ll lick his wounds and they’ll get back to business in four weeks’ time.”
Elias doesn’t agree with the theory that Parramatta’s exodus of key players equates to its premiership window being shut.
Reed Mahoney, Isaiah Papali’i, Marata Niukore, Ray Stone, Tom Opacic and Oregon Kaufusi are all departing the Eels, while Nathan Brown is likely to follow despite being contracted until the end of 2023.
“They’re a good outfit,” Elias said.
“Parramatta have got some terrific juniors there, they’ve got a good system in place, they’ve got a very good coach and they’ve got some great players still.
“They were beaten by a side that was just extraordinarily awesome, just unbelievable.”
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Elias also had support for Parramatta coach Brad Arthur, following another season weighed down by enormous external pressure.
“He made the grand final, he’s the runner-up, they came second,” Elias said.
“At the end of the day, the great thing about sport is the scoreboard. I mean, I know they didn’t win the premiership, but they came close, and they came second. That’s what I love about sport; you have a look at the scoreboard and that is your indicator. His indication in coming second is a damn good result.
“If I was on a board of directors and our club came second, would I be ashamed or disgusted or disappointed? I’d be upset, but all the other stuff that comes with it … nup.”
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