Mitchell Moses’ frustration hit boiling point on Thursday night, with the Parramatta halfback sent to the sin bin in the 75th minute of the Eels’ 32-16 loss to South Sydney.
What was originally ruled a penalty for holding down, escalated to a professional foul after Moses refused to let go of Rabbitohs front rower Jai Arrow, and the Eels No.7 was subsequently sent to the bin.
Moses attempted to argue with referee Liam Kennedy before Joe Ofahengaue dragged him away.
Parramatta interim coach Trent Barrett said Moses’ fuse had gone by the end of the game.
“He’s frustrated at the moment,” Barrett said. “He’s probably frustrated with our performance tonight. The game was probably done and dusted at that stage, but it probably boiled over there for him at the end.”
Referee Liam Kennedy sends Mitchell Moses to the sin bin.Credit: Getty Images
Barrett said the team were their own worst enemy at times.
“Probably hurt ourselves a little bit in that one. We probably didn’t handle the conditions well and probably guilty of trying to play a little bit too pretty at times. That was a tough one. We’ve got to scrape them up off the floor and go again though. That’s hard.”
Parramatta have now lost four games in a row, with the team likely to face the Titans next week without Moses, who is expected to be on Origin duty with NSW.
It’s a different story for South Sydney, who are now on a five-game winning streak and just two points away from the top eight.
Interim head coach Ben Hornby said he was happy with the effort from the Rabbitohs tonight.
“I think they [Eels] had more possession, more metres, we just kept turning up, and kept turning up, and making big plays at big times,” Hornby said. “The effort was the most pleasing part, for sure.”
The Rabbitohs will play the Dolphins in Redcliff next week, with stars Latrell Mitchell and Cameron Murray likely off on NSW Origin duty.