Lebanon captain reportedly refuses $1 million-a-year contract

Parramatta Eels went to the NRL Grand Final last year eventually losing out to Penrith Panthers and a key player in that success was Lebanon captain Mitchell Moses.

However, despite their success, the Eels are now facing a fight to keep hold of the 28-year-old half-back.

Moses played 26 times for the Sydney-based side last season but is out of contract at the end of the upcoming 2023 season and Parramatta are desperate to keep him and young New Zealand playmaker Dylan Brown.

So desperate are the Eels that they’ve reportedly offered an extension deal worth $1 million a season, but the 28-year-old is still weighing up offers from other sides such as the Bulldogs and Tigers, where more money could be on the table.

News Corp journalist Phil Rothfield has been reporting the news of Moses knocking back the monster offer and was speaking to Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast.

He said: “I think Parra can keep both these boys (Moses and Brown) but I’m not confident that they will.

“When is a million dollars not enough for a player who hasn’t won a grand final with his club?

“(Moses is a) very, very good playmaker in the prime of his career at 28-years of age and he’s been offered over a million dollars to stay there. But the Wests Tigers and Canterbury have gone in with another couple of hundred thousand dollars a year.”

Moses has just recently finished representing Lebanon at the World Cup where he captained the Cedars in their three games.

Rothfield also compared Moses to former Parramatta stars and other current NRL players who have remained loyal.

“I can remember the great Parramatta sides, remember Peter Sterling back in the 80s? He knocked back a squillion to go to Manly — you know why? Because he loved Parramatta. He wanted to win titles with Parramatta.

“We’ve seen some great examples recently, no more so than Cameron Munster — he could have made $300,000 a year more at the Wests Tigers or Dolphins,” Rothfield said.

“But he stayed in Melbourne not only because he was guaranteed probably more success there, but because of the jersey, because of the logo and because of the mateship.”