NRL: Moon gets chance to impress

Joel Moon. Photo / Getty Images

Centre Joel Moon describes the next eight weeks as the most important of his rugby league career.

Moon was today named in the New Zealand Warriors side to face the Canterbury Bulldogs in Auckland on Friday night.

It will be his first National Rugby League match in more than three months, having played in the interim for the Auckland Vulcans in the New South Wales Cup.

He was picked ahead of Krisnan Inu as a replacement for Lewis Brown, who injured an ankle in the win over Gold Coast last Friday night and is out for up to four weeks.

Moon, 23, is off contract at the end of the season and is unsure where he will be next year, so the balance of the minor premiership will give him the chance to impress potential employers.

"The last eight weeks is crucial to my career," he said.

"I have to capitalise on that."

Previously with Brisbane, Moon is in his third season with the Warriors, for whom he has operated at five-eighth and centre.

He played in the first three matches this year, but was among those dropped for round four as coach Ivan Cleary sought to turn around a winless start to the campaign.

Operating at times at lock, he has scored seven tries for the Vulcans, who sit second in the NSW Cup.

Moon said he had worked on his defence in the lower grade and being part of the in-form Vulcans had helped to get his confidence back.

His inclusion is the only change Cleary has made to the side who beat the Titans 22-6.

That result ended a four-match losing streak and put the Warriors up to sixth in the standings ahead of the visit of the 11th-placed Bulldogs.

Cleary didn't go into specifics when asked why he had gone for Moon ahead of Inu, but said Moon had "played good footy" for the Vulcans.

"He's the best man for the job," he said.

"He was there early in the season and he has done the job before. I'm sure he can do it this week."

He said the decision had not been a difficult one and he knew what he would do as soon as Brown became unavailable.

Cleary also said Inu was aware of the reasons he had been left out.

"There's a few things to work on there."

Inu, 24, has made 13 appearances in his first season with the Warriors after his move from Parramatta, but the four-test Kiwis international has missed the past two matches.

He sat out the 8-16 loss to Melbourne due to a minor knee injury, while he was one of Moon's teammates as he kicked six goals in the Vulcans' 40-24 win over Balmain Rye-Eastwood last Saturday.


Warriors lineup:
1 Kevin Locke
2 Bill Tupou
3 Joel Moon
4 Shaun Berrigan
5 Manu Vatuvei
6 James Maloney
7 Shaun Johnson
8 Russell Packer
9 Aaron Heremaia
10 Jacob Lillyman
11 Feleti Mateo
12 Simon Mannering (c)
13 Micheal Luck

Interchange:
14 Lance Hohaia
15 Sam Rapira
16 Ben Matulino
17 Elijah Taylor
20 Steve Rapira