Mitchell Moses is becoming more comfortable with his role in the NRL team this year while working on strengthening his halves partnership with Luke Brooks.
Currently the most inexperienced halves combination in the NRL, Brooks and Moses have the task of leading around a Wests Tigers side oozing with potential.
While the season is only six games in, Moses believes that his combination with Brooks has already rapidly improved since the start of the year.
“[Our combination] is pretty good at the moment but it took a couple of weeks to get into it,” Moses said. “Early on we weren’t too good but I think we are really finding our feet now and you can see that on the field.
“I feel comfortable in the role that JT [Jason Taylor] has got me in and I think I’m feeling really comfortable in defence now but we are still learning there too.
“Luke and I are working on directing the team around the park better, because a few of those games this year we should have closed out a bit better than what we did.
“Focusing on that and also our combinations with Teddy [James Tedesco], Robbie [Farah] and the rest of the boys, we need to keep that up.”
There's NOTHING quite like a packed hill! Be there on Sunday, April 19 when we take on the Canberra Raiders at Leichhardt Oval!
Moses also credits the left edge, Kyle Lovett and Chris Lawrence, with helping him improve defensively early in 2015.
“Kyle and I know each other games well,” he said. “We played a lot of footy together coming through the grades and I think having Chris Lawrence outside me is really helping too.
“Whenever I’m tired he gets in there and makes a few tackles, so that has been good for me as well.”
Returning to Leichhardt Oval this Sunday, the ground where he made his NRL debut in Round 16 last year, is something that the Carlingford Cougars junior is excited about.
“I grew up playing at Leichhardt Oval,” Moses said. “The crowd are so close at the ground and you can really hear them when you’re out on field.
“The whole atmosphere there is great, running out to looking at that packed hill is awesome.
“No matter how the team is going there’s always a packed hill; win or lose you know it’s going to be packed out.
“I had my NRL debut there in front of a packed out crowd and that was really good.”
A lot of the focus will also surround his opposing number, former Wests Tiger Blake Austin who comes up against the Club for the first time since his departure at the end of 2015.
“I was pretty good mates with Blake when he was here and I’ve got a lot of respect for him,” Moses said. “What he is doing at moment with Canberra is really good, they’ve got a couple of wins and he is leading that.
“He is a good runner of the ball, which he has showed again in the first few rounds but I think if we stick to our structures this week then we will come away with the win.
“I’m excited to verse him being good mates with him; it should be interesting.”
