Mitchell Moses has professed his love for teammate Dylan Brown as he urged Parramatta to give the talented five-eighth time to consider his NRL playing future.
In what shaped as his first engagement since being unveiled as the Eels' new captain, Moses on Friday spoke of his hunger to play alongside Brown for many years to come.
New Zealand international Brown has until round 10 of this season to trigger an option in his contract that would extend his deal until the end of 2026.
Parramatta have made it clear they want to have an answer on Brown's future by the start of their first season under new head coach Jason Ryles.
But the uncertainty over Brown's next move has only increased after emails from Brown's agent offering his services to rival NRL clubs and rugby union sides were leaked publicly.
Moses, who is no stranger to a contract stand-off himself, said the Eels must give Brown "as much time as he wants".
"That's up to Dyl, I hope he stays, I love him, I love him to death," Moses said.
"I feel like I play my best footy with Dylan. That's a decision he's going to have to make in due course.
"I might start to (get in his ear), I love the kid and what he does outside of footy is what nobody sees - he has a massive effect on the Parramatta area and I really hope he stays.
"He knows I love playing with him, and I think everyone else in the team loves playing with him, so he knows where we all stand.
"It's up to him, you (have to) give him as much time as he wants."
As part of his ascent to the Eels' leadership team, Moses is happy to hand over goalkicking duties to Zac Lomax.
The former St George Illawarra winger, alongside Josh Addo-Carr, should give the Eels one of the most-damaging backlines in the NRL.
"We've got some fair strike out wide now," Moses said.
"So hopefully we can get them as much ball as possible.
"They've been outstanding, I think those two have come bouncing in and full of confidence.
"They're really excited to see what we're doing here and they really bought into what we're trying to do."
Moses, the incumbent NSW State of Origin halfback, said he had yet to speak to Laurie Daley in regards to his role heading into this year's series.
The new Blues coach faces a three-into-two selection headache with his halves with Nathan Cleary fit again.
Last year's NSW halves pairing of Moses and Jarome Luai are both able to cover halfback and five-eighth roles.
"Whoever's going to get picked in that role, they've got my full support," Moses said.
"If it's Nathan as a No. 7, if it's me, he's got my support and it goes both ways, Romie (too), I feel like what he's done for the jersey last year was outstanding.
"Whoever is wearing that jersey, I think they've got the whole state's full support."
