Parramatta coach Brad Arthur says he hasn't felt the need to coerce star halfback Mitchell Moses into staying with the club as the wait for clarity on his contract status rumbles on.
The Eels, who begin their 2023 NRL campaign with a home game against Melbourne on Thursday, are still waiting on Moses to commit his long-term future at the club after coming off contract in November.
Moses has been heavily linked with a return to Wests Tigers and indicated in early February he wanted a decision wrapped up by round one.
But on Tuesday, Arthur was still waiting for an answer.
"I'd love to be able to tell you what's happening there," the Eels coach said.
"He'll make his announcement when he's ready.
"I haven't talked to Mitch - and you might think that's crap - but it's true.
"I had a conversation with him early in the piece about my desire for him to stay.
"I don't feel like I need to be bugging him every day about it.
"I'll leave that to the players, they've done a fair job of ribbing him about that.
"All I can go off is how he's trained and he's buying into the club moving forward and what we're about."
Arthur is set to blood plenty of fresh faces in the Eels line-up when they face the Storm.
Seven of the 17-man squad who played in last year's grand final are injured, unavailable or have left the club over the off-season.
The extent of their injuries is such the Eels have received an exemption to include winger Isaac Lumelume, who isn't in their top-30 squad, to face the Storm.
"I've always stated we've got the utmost respect for Melbourne Storm and the style that they play doesn't change a lot from year to year," Arthur said.
"They are tough, gritty and you know what they're up for.
"We like that challenge because we know that we have to come ready to play because if we don't, we're going to be embarrassed.
"They have good a good history of starting the season (well) and you know they'll be ready to go."
