Wests Tigers star Mitchell Moses is set to take on South Sydney on Friday despite speculation the five-eighth could link with Parramatta by the end of the week.
The Tigers are understood to be close to luring out-of-favour Warriors utility Tuimoala Lolohea before the June 30 deadline, allowing the NRL club to release Moses to the Eels.
It's believed the Warriors' decision to release Lolohea is the final hurdle in the Tigers getting their man and ending the long-running saga surrounding Moses' future at Concord.
Tigers players were confident Moses would be playing for them against the Rabbitohs on Friday after the playmaker completed a field session with the team on Tuesday.
"As of this afternoon, he's here this week, Tuesday deadline. Anything can happen, but people upstairs make them calls. We just play footy," teammate Tim Grant said.
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The Tigers front-rower applauded Moses for his ability to keep producing for the club on the field despite the circus around his possible exit to the Eels.
"It's a testament to who he is as a person. He's a real competitor. You put him in any jersey and he'll have a go. It's just the person Mitch is," Grant said.
Veteran Chris Lawrence admitted it was a strange situation for Moses to be in.
"I suppose it's weird because he's one of our most passionate and energetic guys not only on the footy field, but the training field," Lawrence said.
"As we get onto the training field and playing field, everyone forgets all the stuff that's happening behind the scenes and it's all about enjoying each other's company."
Friday's match will be the first time the Tigers take the field after confirmation star fullback James Tedesco will leave the club at the end of the year for the Sydney Roosters.
Lawrence said he was pleased the ongoing speculation is almost over, freeing the players to focus on breaking their six-year finals drought.
"Hopefully everyone comes to a resolution and we can move forward and look forward to the rest of the year," he said.
"There's a lot of footy to be played this year and I know the guys that are leaving definitely want to leave on a good note. They'll be doing everything they can to try and get us to a semi-final."
