The Titans have signed rising star Kierran Moseley on a two-year deal
PETER BADEL
THE COURIER-MAIL
NOVEMBER 17, 2014 11:00PM
THE Titans have secured one of the NRL's hottest young prospects with boom Queensland under-20s hooker Kierran Moseley signing a two-year deal at the Gold Coast.
Queensland legend Kevin Walters, who coached Moseley in the Maroons' junior Origin side this year, rates the 20-year-old among the code's most exciting talents.
Moseley hails from Cloncurry, the northwest Queensland town where temperatures reach 50C, and his red-hot form in 2014 sparked a bidding war for his services.
Penrith had been keen to retain the indigenous rake, but Moseley faced being the third-string option behind James Segeyaro and new Souths recruit Apisai Koroisau who helped deliver the Rabbitohs a grand final win.
The former Australian Schoolboys star signed a two-year deal with the Titans on Monday and Walters is confident Moseley is destined for NRL stardom.
“Kierran has all the necessary skills to be an NRL player, it's now up to him to succeed,” Walters said.
“He's still developing his game but I've coached him in the Queensland under-20s and he has the attributes to be a good dummy-half. It's just about working on his game.
“He played well in this year's under-20s Origin game. He was just starting to play a few NSW Cup games when we picked him and he had a very good back-end of the year.”
Moseley said he was keen to join the Titans for a better chance at immediate NRL action and the opportunity to reunite with former teammate James Roberts and fellow recruits from the Panthers Ryan Simpkins and Matt Robinson.
“I’m thankful for Penrith letting me head back to Queensland to look for an opportunity to play in the NRL and I want to make the most of it,” Moseley said.
“It will be great to link up against with (assistant coach) Rohan Smith who was Garth Brennan’s assistant when we won the 20s competition in 2012 and also James Roberts. To have Ryan Simpkins and Matt Robinson, who I played with this year at the Panthers, here too will hopefully help me settle in.”
Moseley previously attracted interest from the Cowboys after moving to Townsville in 2010 to be a part of Kirwan State High's rugby league excellence program.
A nuggety rake standing 180cm and weighing 83kg, Moseley played one NRL game for Penrith last season and has the talent to unseat Titans hooker Beau Falloon, who won the club’s player of the year award in 2014.
“He's got a nice skill set,” Walters said.
“His defence is good and he's quite handy with the ball as well. I think he will enjoy working with a coach like Neil Henry and hopefully he can develop further with a Queensland club.
“He's very sharp out of dummy half and he likes to run the ball.
“It's too early to say whether he can take the next step and play State of Origin, but he has enough ability to break into the NRL and where he goes from there is up to him.”
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