Mitchell Moses: I'm definitely a lot happier person." Credit:AAP "I always knew I could do the kind of stuff I'm doing now," Moses said. "It's just a matter of bringing a few things together and working a few combinations out. The change has been good for me. I feel like I have found my feet here at Parra. I have probably taken a bit more of a mature approach to my game. I'm not really pushing the passes, just keeping it simple. That's been working well the last couple of weeks." Given the events that unfolded with Moses at the Wests Tigers earlier this year, it's easy to forget he was actually the club's player of the year in 2016. But those same events at the Tigers saw Moses struggle to find form and motivation as the personal toll of a protracted contract negotiation began to take its toll.

Those closest to him saw an unhappy man. But that's changed in the blue and gold. "I'm definitely a lot happier person," Moses said. "I just got all that stuff out of the way and got my future sorted. I've been going into games clear-headed. I'm definitely a lot happier now. If I'm going into games with a clear head and not worrying about other things and worrying about the job I have to do, I play my best footy when I'm doing that so I'll do that for the rest of the year." Eels coach Brad Arthur, who was desperate to get Moses across mid-season to bolster his side's finals ambitions, has to be credited for the improvement and maturity of his No.7 in such a short time. "BA has been massive for me as well. Just sitting down with him before I was coming here and picking his brains about footy – I definitely had a massive connection to BA," Moses said. "He's really opened up my game and let me play what's in front of me. He's given me that free reign to do what I want, at a limit. I think my footy is at a good stage where I'm not going for the big play, just trying to grind out games a lot better than what I used to do.

"I've had like four coaches this year, he's been massive in helping me. I think the first time we met it was about what I wanted to become as a footballer. There was a big connection. I've heard from other players before that he's a really good coach and I was excited to work with him." As close as he is to housemate Luke Brooks, the common criticism of the pair at the Wests Tigers was that they couldn't find their mojo as a halves combination. They often played their best football in the absence of the other. But the combination with Corey Norman appears to be blossoming as the Eels approach their first finals series since 2009. "​He takes a lot of pressure off me," Moses said of Norman. "We've got threats on both sides of the field. He's a class player. His name was tossed up to play Origin this year and I think he deserved a shot there. He missed out unfortunately but he's playing outstanding footy at the moment. He takes a lot of pressure off me which really helps my game."