PUTTING up with bone-jarring hits every week, you'd think Parramatta cult hero Fuifui Moimoi would be keen to hang up the boots ASAP. But Moimoi loves the punishment so much, he wants to keep playing until the end of 2016.
As veteran prop Petero Civoniceva gets ready to drop the curtain on his Origin career at 36, Moimoi, 32, feels fresh enough to keep lining up his younger opponents. Moimoi not only wants to help the Eels get off the bottom of the premiership ladder, he wants to secure a new contract. Yet to ink a deal for 2013, Moimoi told The Daily Telegraph before training yesterday of his future ambition to remain in the blue and gold. "I can see myself playing another four years. Look at Petero. How old is he?" Moimoi asked. "He's still going good. I want to stay at this club. They've signed some good young front-rowers, and they've signed that front-rower from Manly (Darcy Lussick), so I'll see what 'Mooks' (coach Stephen Kearney) wants. "I'd love to stay here and be a one-club player. They're a good club and looked after me since I've been here. It's up to them if they want me. If not, I'll have to find somewhere else." Moimoi racked up 144m against the Panthers, but heaped praise on starting props Justin Poore and Tim Mannah for making his job easier coming off the bench.
Eels teammates urged Moimoi to lift his game while watching a video session last week, and the fan favourite immediately responded. "I thought he played well on the weekend, the boys had a chat to him and told him he needed to step up, and he did," centre Willie Tonga said. "I know he definitely wants to keep playing. "Before I got to Parra, I didn't know how old he was. "I thought that he was only 28 or 29. But he showed us against Penrith what he is capable of." Kearney said Moimoi was awarded the players player award last year. "He's not past it, and he keeps telling me he's 25," Kearney said.
