Parramatta Eels captain Mitchell Moses has faced ongoing injury setbacks in recent seasons, with a foot issue sidelining him for the final two months of last year.
New head coach Jason Ryles is ensuring that his star halfback will be fully fit and ready for the season opener, as after undergoing several scans and medical tests, Moses appears to be on track for round one.
Ryles is eager to kick off his NRL coaching career with a victory against his former club, Melbourne Storm, at AAMI Park in just over a week.
However, Moses has yet to play any minutes during the Pre-Season Challenge.
“Mitch had a bit of soreness with his foot around the screw,” Ryles said.
“We've had every scan under the sun. He had a really good running session Friday to build him back up for Round 1.
“Because of where we were in the pre-season, we didn't want to push him through whatever he didn't need to. But he's all clear, he's happy and he's training – we expect him to play Round 1.
“This year he's probably done the most training he's done for a long time, and that probably caught up with him the past few weeks.
“If we're playing NRL games, we're playing him. It's a matter of being smart about it while we can be smart about it.”
Moses' fitness will remain a talking point leading up to Parramatta's trip to Melbourne, which takes place on March 9.
