Major assignment: Mitch Moses takes on the Storm in round 18. Credit:AAP The halfback has made 14 appearances in the blue and gold and his new team has won 11 of them. He has done so with the No.7 jersey on his back, a number that has spooked every Eels halfback since Sterling's retirement in 1992. Not Moses. "I've heard a lot about the No.7 jersey in the Parramatta Eels colours," Moses said. "I love that I was coming over here knowing I was going to play in the No.7 jersey. It was a massive challenge for me. It was a good thing to prove a lot of people wrong." By his own admission, it took a few weeks for Moses to warm into his new environment. But the improvement has been so rapid that even Sterling has been impressed. Not that Moses is reading his own press.

"That's the first I've heard of it," he said. "Coming from a player like that, who is obviously a legend of the game, means a lot." When his future was undecided earlier this season, Moses maintained that playing finals footy – not the size of his contract – was the main motivator. The fact he has helped the Eels to the top four has justified the decision. "It's pretty exciting. I've played close to 90 games, something like that, and it's my first finals series," he said. "It's a massive reason [for swapping sides]. It was for myself as well, I'm enjoying myself a lot at the club. "They threw me that lifeline through the year and I grabbed it with both hands. I'm excited for this week."

Asked if he had envisaged such a scenario four months ago while at the Tigers, the 22-year-old said: "Not at all. At the start of the year I would have said I'd finish at the Tigers, obviously. Things happen in rugby league and it just had to happen like that. I've found my feet here at Parramatta and everyone has made it pretty easy for me. "It was always going to be a bit tough for a halfback coming over, you need to learn a whole new playbook, all the new plays and things like that. "It took me a couple of weeks to get used to combinations and I definitely feel really comfortable at the moment." While Moses is excited about how far his game has come under Parramatta coach Brad Arthur, he believes his best is yet to come. "I still feel I can learn a lot more with the players around me and things like that. I feel my game can still go to the next level," he said.

"With the players around me and how we're going, I'd obviously say [this is my best season]. I've got to keep it low-key at the moment and just keep worrying about what I can do for the team." Moses will face his sternest test yet this week. The Eels come up against short-priced premiership favourites Melbourne away from home, pitting him in a duel against Queensland and Australian halfback Cooper Cronk. "I look at a lot of the halves and he's obviously a main one, just in how he controls the game and how good he is at doing that," Moses said. Loading "He doesn't play for Australia for no reason, he's been doing it for a long time.

"He's probably playing his best footy. I feel at the moment with Melbourne, how he reads the game and controls the game and how he can finish off a game, he's going to be a massive key for us to stop this week."