MATT Moylan might feel like he is young enough to be playing under 20s rugby league, but after he walked off the Carrington Park turf on Saturday he also felt like he could handle State of Origin football.
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The Penrith Panthers fullback was in sublime touch as he outshone his more experienced team-mates and led his side to a 40-0 thumping of the Gold Coast Titans.
While he did set up one of the Panthers’ tries at Bathurst last year when they went down 18-16 to Cronulla, the difference in his game six months on is massive.
This time Moylan had three try assists and two line breaks, while he made more metres – 210 – than any other player on the field.
“I still feel like and think I am like 19 or 20,” Moylan said.
“But I feel ready for it [State of Origin].
“I am definitely comfortable at fullback; just the confidence the coaching staff over the last couple of years have put into me and the other young boys has been great.”
Moylan has already played representative football as part of the 2014 NSW City outfit, while his strong finish to last season earned him a place in Australia’s Four Nations squad.
Though Moylan did not get the chance to wear green and gold, Panthers coach Ivan Cleary believes that disappointment has acted as a motivator.
“Matt’s still pretty young and I think the Four Nations experience was good for him in that he didn’t get a game,” Cleary said.
“If he got a few games he might have come back and felt pretty good about himself. But he came back with a little bit of fire in him.”
When Cleary was asked if his fullback was ready to wear a NSW Blues jumper he said: “I’ll tell you one thing about Matty, any level he’s gone to he’s gone up with that level.”
Moylan’s Panthers team-mate Peter Wallace was more direct when asked his opinion. Having played as halfback for NSW in the past, he knows what it takes to reach that level.
“I think [Moylan is ready for Origin]. Every challenge put in front of him, he’s handled,” Wallace said.
“In City-Country he was great last year and I think he’ll step up for sure.”
But for now, Moylan is concentrating on playing consistent football for Penrith each week.
If he replicates the effort he produced against the Titans, not only will he be strongly considered for Origin, but the Panthers will be a more formidable opponent to their NRL rivals.
“I am pretty happy with how I played, and it ended up being a really good result for us today,” Moylan said.
“It was good to come down here and get the two points after what happened to us in Bathurst last year.
“We didn’t start the way we planned, but we ended up getting back to our game plan and putting some good play together.”
