Maloney happy to be back

RETURNING Australian five-eighth James Maloney will be a “great acquisition’’ for Penrith, while Mitchell Moses — his rival No. 6 tonight for Lebanon — is destined to pull on the green and gold.

So says Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga who will be mindful of what Moses is capable of doing tonight at Allianz Stadium, but also grateful Maloney is back on deck after he missed last weekend’s win over France for personal reasons.

While few inside the Kangaroos camp know exactly what those personal matters were, Maloney looked his usual jovial self as he completed yesterday’s captain’s run at Narrabeen.

“He’s been very good, very positive, it’s been a challenging time for him, but he’s handled it really well in camp, and he’s keen to play well tomorrow,’’ Meninga said.

As for Maloney’s impending move to Penrith as part of a Matt Moylan swap deal to Cronulla, Meninga said: “It’s all positive, isn’t it, around what he’s doing. His contract is probably the least of his issues at the moment. He’d a great acquisition [for Penrith], and what Jimmy brings is a wealth of experience.

“He’s a great talker, he understands the game, he’s an in- telligent player, he’s a winner, he understands how you win because he’s been at clubs that have won grand finals. He’s played rep football, all that experience is going to help — I think it’s a great acquisition.’’

The Kangaroos have been spoiled for choice when it comes to playmakers, but with Maloney 31 and Cronk 33, Meninga knows Australia will eventually need to start blooding a few more youngsters.

Moses is just 23 and destined to be pushing for NSW honours in the coming years — and possibly a Roos jersey.

Meninga knows what Moses can offer after spending time with him on last year’s Prime Minister’s XIII tour, and said yesterday: “He’s certainly a player of the future, there’s no doubt about that, his back end of the year with Parramatta was really, really good.

“It’s good to see he’s improving his game.’’