Matt Moylan will return to his “natural” position of fullback in 2019, with interim Cronulla coach John Morris confident that’s where the 27-year-old plays his best football. Moylan hasn’t played fullback on a full-time basis since the first half of 2017, but a return to the role in 2019 is now certain following Valentine Holmes’ departure to American football and Shaun Johnson’s arrival from the Warriors. A fullback when he first came into the NRL in 2013, Moylan moved to
the halves two seasons ago at a time when he was considered a NSW State of Origin five-eighth option. But an analysis of his career shows he averages more tries, try-assists, linebreaks, linebreak-assists, metres and tackle busts at the back, while he is also more reliable in defence. “Matty is a natural fullback for mine, he likes the unstructured style of footy and last year was a challenge fitting him into halves,” Morris said. “He was going a bit between fullback and halves, and Valentine was on the wing for a bit, so we never had that continuity in that position until halfway through the year.
