‘Our future is now’ - Jason Ryles.
Whether we like it or not, as Eels fans we find ourselves again remaining ‘patient’ as results become secondary to experience for the remainder of 2025.
I get it, but, watching relentless coverage of an emotional man-child like Ricky Stuart, in front of a packed house of 6,000 Canberran’s clapping out of time with each other to a shit sounding horn, is going to be really, really, tough.
It might also be jealousy. The Raiders are flying, and their brand of footy is actually the most exciting thing to hit Canberra in decades.
And while the draw doesn't get any easier from here, it’s not all doom & gloom Eels fans....
While, there are concerns poor results could impact the progress made, its impossible not to respect JR’s ‘all in’ commitment to the future of this club & our juniors, over his own reputation & results.
EA & Sonic Boom have done a phenomenal job in giving an insight into our juniors, available here if you missed it - https://www.1eyedeel.com/forum/topics/ea-sonic-boom-rookie-report-jersey-flegg
While that talent matures like a fine wine, developing to perfection just in time for the good clubs to swoop in & purchase, what does our more immediate future look like?
While some of those questions remain very concerning, others have been answered, albeit with patience, so this is a look over some of the undeniable positives this season has brought.
This will be part 1, as it was too much information for one blog. It also gives me the opportunity to not waste my time if no one reads this one… So feedback appreciated.
PART 01 - ISAIAH IONGI
Anyone who had seen Isaiah play in NSW Cup knew, this was a brilliant signing.
It is so good, that we can only assume Ryles pushed this one through while Mark O’Neill was finalising his ‘Clause Benefits Loyalty Program’ to pitch to Iongi’s agent days after he’d already signed.
Every week Isaiah improves, likely due to the fact he is apparently incredibly coachable, and works meticulously on every part of his game.
Of course, he is making the errors innevitble with inexperience.
However, Iongi continues to inject himself into games, and his improvement shows how hard this kid works on his game. Great signs for a player learning the ropes of first grade.
Jason Ryles’ advice for his new fullback before round 01 was to ‘go after the game’, to not hold back, a mentality that appears deeply ingrained in the young custodian.
As we all search for a replacement for the incredibly popular 1EE fan favourite Dylan Brown, look no further than Isaiah Iongi.
So, how does Isaiah stand up statistically against other fullbacks in the game?
Disclaimer: Stats do not tell the full story, but they can give us an insight into certain metrics.
( Stats taken from NRL.com & Foxsports)
- Stats are shown as a total, then an average per game, for instance LINEBREAKS '8 / .5' means 8 total at an average of .5 per game.
- Rankings are taken from fullbacks only, and only players who have only played fullback
- Where there are no rankings, the player sat outside the top 50 NRL players for that metric.
- Noticeable exclusions Latrell (hadnt played enough games) & Drinkwater (because I forgot all about him).
WORK RATE:
Impossible to gauge purely on statistics, however, Iongi is on the heels of the big 'effort' dogs like Tedesco & Edwards in runs, which is great news for a player in his first season, and who is yet to fully mature physically into his frame. We saw against the Panthers last week how much ground Isaiah is covering, and his effort remains from minute 1 to minute 80. Work rate not a concern for our new fullback.
ATTACK:
Although parts of Isaiah’s attacking game are clearly a work in progress, he does appear to have all the traits to develop into an elite fullback in attack.
His acceleration is a welcomed asset to the Eels, as Iongi is able to get on the outside of opponents and draw defenders in. He has decent vision, often targetting shortened edges.
While he has missed in the timing, the decision making, & the execution of his passing game at times, Isaiah clearly possesses an ability to create & deliver on opportunities as he sits 6th for fullbacks in try assists & 8th for line break assists - an impressive stat for a player of his experience.
DEFENCE:
Defence is probably the hardest area to gauge accurately with statistics.
A missed tackle can be an attempted try saver from a fullback that never should have got there in the first place. There is also no way of analysing a players communication & ability to organise the defensive line. However, missed tackles, tackle efficiency & errors are a problem area for Isaiah Iongi.
Not completely unexpected for a rookie learning one of the toughest positions, but an area we no doubt need improvement in.
BREAK OUT GAME:
Despite being sin binned for tackling an opponent who was touching the football, or, because the Eels had opened up a 26-10 lead, both of which drew the ire of referee Liam Kennedy, Isaiah Iongi’s breakout game came in Round 07 against the West Tigers.
Where Isaiah finished with: 2 tries, 1 line break, 1 line break assist & 135m from 16 runs.
Highlights here - https://www.nrl.com/news/2025/04/21/wests-tigers-v-eels--round-7-2025/
CONCLUSION:
It’s hard to believe Isaiah was poached from Queensland because ‘no other footy clubs had spoken to him’ before the Panthers offered him $14,000 over two seasons to come to Sydney.
Thanks Penrith.
It’s been a tough year, but Jason Ryles deserves a lot of credit for going after Iongi at the expense of our long servicing captain Gutherson. It was time, and Iongi has repaid that faith.
The sky is the limit for Isaiah.
What are your thoughts on Isaiah Iongi's progress this season?
Replies
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Yeah Coryn, it sounds good, smart idea....but it's just a cheap slogan. Those 7 words are carrying a lot of high ideal weight, but when you break 'em down there's nothing there.
Be leaders...Who? all of 'em in a too many cooks banquet. Some folks(eg dylan) are not cut out for leadership, and the young need to learn and follow good leaders, not be them. We need to select good leaders, then the rest need to fucking follow them.
make trends....We have made trends. We could put a patent on last 20min fadeout. It is a trend of ours, but
don't follow them....they don't. Folks only tend to mimic successful trends, not losing ones....how did we go not following Melb wrestle or Penrith roll-ball. Some trends should be taken on board, then personalised. Then adjusted and wooshka!...new trend
The slogan is low-rez high-ideal, just don't zoom in
Bingo
Nice focus on Longi NOS for some reason when I see him returnng the ball from a kick he reminds me of Ken Thornett. I don't know what it is about him but that is where my thoughts lie. I hope he develops that type of fondness for many even though the game has changed in so many ways since the Thornett years. I hope he stays with us for the rest of his career and becomes an iconic player in the clubs heritage.
He is one of those players who hopefully will develop into that type of player who can make those around him into much better players..Good players can bring out the best in others.
Thanks for reading Tad, and great post.
You get the feeling Iongi could be a 'clubman' style personallity if looked after. Lets hope we lock him up for a long time.
Great write up NOS, and responses.
How good will longi be, well better then average and potential to be a champion. From game 1 in 2025 till know his game has improved in some areas, defence, high ball, and his game involvement.
The 2 major areas he needs to improve are following play in attack, especially up the middle ( the Billy slater plays) and the main one decision making with ball in hand.
The first one will come naturally with more first game experience. The second one not so easey the decision making on the run with 3 or 4 options.
He also needs players around him to give him options. That's not happening at the moment, Russell gets in the way and is simply a straight ball runner or angles to the left taking room off The Fox.
Ryles has alot to work with, with Longi but he needs to coach players to play off Longi,s abilities with the ball.
Graham, Iongi is all class and there are plenty of green shoots overall, but it's a great point you make on support play.
How many busts and opportunities did we make that had very little support?
Green jerseys were everywhere, but we had very little of ours there.
Like Jack said, "If you're standing still in footy, you're going backwards fast."
It's not all on Iongi. He's not superman, although, on second thought... It's just an area we need to improve on as a whole. Lots of points went begging. Moments lost.
That's not a talent issue, it's more effort, awareness and team being more connected as one. Another off-season together should help cohesion.
Thanks for the great contribution Graham, couldn't agree more with your points.
Feel you nailed it in that the players around him are also not helping with decision making. Especially his centres / Russell, who is doing his best, but is really closing space with his lack of awareness at centre. Sean also doesn't attract defenders.
If Lomax was at centre I do feel it would open more space for Iongi because Lomax demands multiple defenders due to his strength & offloading? Not saying thats the move, Ryles seems to want Zac on the wing, but just as an example.
We really lack strike centres.
Maybe it’s also just experience? Iongi showing a lack of confidence at this stage to really execute?
HOE to your point, and its a good one, it does feel like a lack off awareness? The speed of the game just a little too quick still for some of these guys, as opposed to lack of effort?
At least with Iongi, we are seeing noticeable improvement, which shows he is working hard behind the scenes.
Here is a scenario i will throw at you, as good as longi has been he is probably only ever going to be Kennedy from the sharks type fullback. What is Joash Papalii makes the most of his opportunity at fullback and lights it up like Ben barba, do we then consider longi as our long term 6?
No I think JR understands what Iongi is I see him as our custodian for the foreseeable future regardless of what Joash produces.
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