Lazarus, Webcke, Harragon ... Leota? How Panther became an NRL prop star

When conversations turn to the best prop in the game, the first name tossed up is usually Payne Haas. And rightly so.

But how about the bloke taking on Haas this weekend? In Moses Leota, Penrith have a front-rower putting together a CV that could soon result in him being spoken of in the same revered tones as modern-day greats Glenn Lazarus, Petero Civoniceva, Paul Harragon and Shane Webcke.

Penrith’s storied run of five consecutive grand finals – which will stretch to six if they overcome Brisbane in Sunday’s preliminary final – has been built on the platform set by Leota and long-time prop partner James Fisher-Harris.

No one at the foot of the mountains has ever taken Leota’s contributions for granted, but this season he has taken his game to another level following Fisher-Harris’ departure to the Warriors.

If he was ever in the shadow of the “Fish”, he has certainly emerged from it now.

“No, not really, just the same,” Leota replied when asked if he had taken on more of a leadership role this season. “I just put my best foot forward. I’m more of an actions guy. I don’t really talk in meetings and what-not. I try to show my actions on the field.”

Haas is the prototype modern-day forward. Blessed with an engine that allows him to play more minutes than most props, without any discernible drop in performance.

There are any number of statistics that can be used to compare Haas and Leota. When it comes to sheer output, no one else comes close to Haas’ numbers. The Blues behemoth is unmatched in terms of minutes played, runs, run metres, tackles, tackle breaks and offloads.

But the one thing the data analysts can’t measure is how hard Leota runs and whacks opponents. And nobody does it quite as consistently in big, post-season games.

“Just knowing that it’s finals and you could be gone, that it could be your last game of the year, I don’t want it to be so,” Leota said. “We know that come finals, every team’s going to play well and we have to go up a level.”

When it comes to motivation – a reason to collide with opposing props at G-forces approximating a car crash – both bookends think of their families. For Haas, he is responsible for not only raising his own children, but also being the legal guardian of younger brothers Geejay and Hans.

In Leota’s case, he wants his three children to enjoy a better life than his. The Kiwi international left his home of Auckland at the age of 13, was passed around family in Sydney’s western suburbs – including living in his uncle’s caravan – on three separate occasions and fitted his early footballing commitments around his jobs as a bricklayer and car detailer.

“For a lot of people, obviously it’s their family,” Leota said of what motivates him. “That’s massive for me, my kids especially. I want to give them a better childhood than I had.

“Once it’s all said and done, I want them to be in a good place when I finish. I want them to not have to just do whatever it takes to get by. Then again, you need that hardship to build character and put them in a better place.”

There was a “phase” Leota went through, during the 2023 finals series, where he would watch clips of Mike Tyson fighting to get him in the right headspace for battle. These days, he is more likely to listen to rap or other tunes, whether they be “old school or new school”.

“Anything that gees me up,” he said.

While all the talk ahead of the Broncos game is about the battle of the halves or the back lines, Leota going up against Haas could be the match-up that proves decisive.

“It’s a massive challenge,” Leota said. “Obviously, you have to prepare well and be ready for the intense game.

“They got some great forwards in Payne Haas and the rest of their forward pack. We definitely have to be on.”

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