While some believe there's a battle between Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses to be New South Wales' best halfback, Craig Gower is confident the current Panther is streets ahead of his Parramatta counterpart.
Cleary has arguably been the best player in the NRL over the past few years, leading his side to three straight grand finals, winning three of five Origin series he's been apart of, and now has a World Cup to add to the resume.
However, every ying has its yang, so while Cleary does his best King Midas impression, Mitchell Moses is firmly on the other side of the coin.
The Eels halfback has lost his debut, 50th, 100th, 150th and 200th match in the NRL, fell in his sole Origin appearance and was defeated in his only grand final showing.
Were those defeats solely because of Moses? Of course not.
Will Moses get blamed for the losses? Absolutely.
The Parramatta halfback has notoriously gone missing in the clutch. In fact, Moses' Origin debut came after he missed a post-siren penalty goal against Penrith, falling 13-12. Despite earning a sky blue jersey, fans were relentless.
Former Panthers' halfback Craig Gower says Cleary is 'streets ahead'.
“In the stats, they are the one-two but I think when you look at who can get the job done, Nathan is actually lengths in front of him,” Gower said.
“That's the truth, mate.
“I don't think Mitch Moses has the all-round game that Nathan has. The way Nathan ices games and Mitch just hasn't. That is where the question marks are and that is where Nathan is a fair way in front of Mitch.
“Look at the games and look at what's happened so far this year, and past games. Mitch is a good frontrunner but it's when the game is on the line…
“Don't get me wrong, Mitch is a great player but it doesn't seem like he can nail those big games.
“He has obviously come under fire this year for putting his team into positions for him to ice the game but unfortunately he hasn't come up with the plays.
“Everyone talks about dollars – I'm not really into the dollar side of things but more about who is actually winning those tight games.
“And it seems like Nathan and Penrith can come up with those vital plays and at the moment, Mitch can't. If you look at what's been done, I stand by my comments.”
The halfbacks will face off tonight in a grand final rematch for the ages, with Parramatta desperate to avoid an 0-4 start to the season while Penrith are fresh off a bye and ready to repeat the efforts that saw them topple the Eels in the finals - twice.
