Parramatta caretaker coach Trent Barrett spurns questions over Mitch Moses future

Focusing on speculation around Mitch Moses’ future is of no interest to Parramatta caretaker coach Trent Barrett, who instead says the players who took down the Warriors last weekend “deserve” the attention ahead of Friday’s showdown with Penrith.

A fired-up Barrett said he no insight about Moses, who has been linked to a possible early release from his contract, amid questioning on Thursday morning, adding the injured playmaker has been “fine” around the club as he continues his rehab from season-ending surgery.

Moses, 29, is contracted to the Eels until the end of 2026, with options in his favour for the 2027 and 2028 seasons but has been the source of speculation after revelations of an expletive-laden tirade in the sheds after the round 17 loss to Newcastle.

The star playmaker is managed by his cousin, Isaac, who orchestrated Parramatta young gun Blaize Talagi’s exit from the club and move to Penrith.

But Barrett had little interest in fuelling talk of any perceived animosity between Mitchell and the club during his press conference.

“He’s had surgery, so no, he hasn’t been around too much, but, mate, I think he’s fine,” Barrett said when asked about Mitchell’s state of mind.

“I’m more than happy to talk about last week’s win and this week’s game against Penrith, and if you want to talk about that instead.”

When questioning persisted, Barrett said he “hadn’t heard anything” and denied talk around Moses was a distraction.

“I haven’t heard anything, no. As I said, I’m more than happy to talk about the game on the weekend, and I think the players deserve that, the way they performed last week against the Warriors,” he said.

“Mitch isn’t playing, so no, they’re not distracting. The boys are excited about it. We enjoy playing Penrith and we’ve got them at home as well.

“The players have done really well to block it out and I know everyone’s trying to create a headline and look for a comment, but my job is to prepare that team in there and that’s what I’m doing

“And coming off a really good win last week when we’ve got a lot of injuries and I thought the players played really, really well last week and they’re excited to play tomorrow night.”

The Eels are just two points ahead of the last-placed West Tigers and despite winning only one of the past seven games, Barrett was buoyed by what he had seen and said there was “a lot to play for” in the remaining rounds.

“They’ve been good the whole time, mate. I think the effort and the attitude that the players that we’ve got available at the moment, and we’ve got a lot out, but they turn up every week,” he said.

“And I think they’re really good against Melbourne a fortnight ago, and they backed it up against New Zealand, against the Warriors over in New Zealand. And that’s not easy to do. And, you know, it’s going to be crucially as important for us tomorrow night.

“So there’s a lot of pride in the dressing room still, and they want to play well. You know, we’ve still got a lot to play for and hopefully we can climb the ladder in the next few weeks.”