Parramatta have launched discussions with the Gold Coast to sign strike centre Brian Kelly for the 2026 season.
In the wake of star winger Zac Lomax’s sudden exit from the NRL club’s roster after just 12-months at the club, the Eels are aiming to restock their stretched backline and it’s Kelly who has emerged as a genuine target.
The Eels, Titans and Kelly’s management are in the process of thrashing out the financial aspect of any potential release of the 29-year-old, who is contracted in 2026 to the Gold Coast.
Kelly and his management have been informed by the Titans that the Indigenous All Stars representative won’t be re-signed beyond 2026, prompting serious thought to prolonging his career for 2026 and 2027 at the Eels.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/eels-in-talks-with-gold-coast-titans-over-zac-lomax-replacement/news-story/2abfa2e37971b2db2b9db8d58b3e47b7?using_ew=false&using_ew_noesi=false&fbclid=IwY2xjawOfF7VleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFKc3RUTUFPeEpEZUxjN1A5c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHgPwojjIGnzFPQQ99dpzxbCykc8wzAGNZxn2mAH5aVZ2m68OCVWrn02zTSDX_aem_dfGMxwaigU4dJ8dLNjWkAg
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lol, MON aiming for the stars. I'm sure the bookies have shut down the betting on the 2026 premiership until they know more about Brian's destination.
So, it is MON and Ryles has nothing to do?
To some yep. If we sign Koloamatangi it will be Ryles who did it.
What is your take on it Wild Eels.
Do you think Ryles is identifying talented 1st choice targets in the first place.
Who do you think is missing the "close the deal" aspect of recruitment.
I have to say that if the Eels as a club don't sign Ryles 1st choice or his second choice , 3rd and 4th etc at what point do we look at why and who is lacking in the negotiation process. Surely you can see there may be a problem in this area.
'How do we do better and actually sign Ryles first choice talent picks.
Bluey, you said not getting the big "Hollywood" names didn't worry you. It was more losing "first choices" or "second" etc. So, I'm trying to get a grasp of this idea. Is it anyone we are interested in? Talk to? Or specifically offer a contract to? Obviously, each step has increasing levels of time, cost and investment.
For example we talked to NAS, had genuine interest, along with six or seven clubs, but NAS was up in the air with his future, so we didn't write up a contract to nut out. Would NAS pass as "first choice"?
PS: It's a slogan Coryn is also big on. Very regularly. That is, Ryles is our second or third choice because as some point in time we were interested in Bennett or Bellamy (because who'd be interested, right?). I mean the Storm want to keep Bellamy as long as possible. So, following that logical any coach after him is their second choice at best. Mind you, when it was reported by media we "passed on Bennett" this site went into nuclear meltdown. Then, when it was known we went after him, we were still dopes. Not interested, dopes. Interested, dopes.
Very good question HOE.
It wasnt meant " as not getting Hollywood names didn't worry me. ". It was more that I'm not worried who Ryles first choice is, I trust that judgement in what he needs. Hollywood player type or not. My concern is foremost whomever Ryles first choice 2nd, 3rd etc is, we shouldn't be missing out on them continuously. What are we missing, what are we not addressing when closing a targeted player.
On whom qualifies as a first or second target is a great question. Is Nelson regarded a first choice target. mmmmmmm if we want to follow the news, scuttlebutt, mainstream media or ask Ai with whom we have made recent inquires, overtures or plays for.
The slogan part is a bit condescending and alarming a bit for me, when as a supporter you hold real genuine concerns over this aspect of the recruitment process and try continuosly to have that addressed and acknowledged by discussing it. I suppose by referring to it numerous times, to different people in blogs it may come accross as just a slogan. If that's the case then we probably have no hope of this area of concern being reviewed by the club, If my concern or message is being downgraded to just a slogan, then I feel we are missing our audience, if it's only seen as a slogan.
Im not sure i have ever used the word dope or dopes to describe someone here either. I can't talk for what everyone says that has similar ideas. I understand it's easy to throw them all into one basket and think they are all the same. I'm not sure if that's the real case though. We may all have similar concerns and express them differently or our concerns may be slightly different to each other with a common theme. Either way it is what it is.
Which ever way we want to quantify 1st or second,3rd choice etc. From the group above we have signed none of them, after allegedly attempting to. Now times that by how ever many other players in other positions and a trend develops that i feel needs to be reviewed at Eels Management.
Just how I feel as an absolute nobody, that supports the Eels.
Your intentions are noble, Bluey, yet I'm not sure about it all. Is having a chat or coffee with NAS (like 6–7 clubs) to get an idea of where he's at a failure worthy of making that Black-List? Could we hypnotize NAS into the NRL?
It's also slippery slope to draw concrete conclusions and make a Black-List off media allegations, which are often hit-and-miss. I'm not even 100% sure Ryles or the club are all that keen to spend almost $1m on Keon that the media are reporting we are hot for.
Galvin should make it on your Black-List. Although he was more of an "opportunity" that arose than a premediated "first choice" hitlist. We obviously went hard for him, and the Dogs were caught by surprise when he paused for some time to think and consider it. If we were in a premiership window, we probably would've nabbed him. It is what it is.
I suspect the club is focusing and investing more on realistic targets and smart buys; and leaving the powder dry for mid-season opportunities. Pretending we are the sugar-daddied Broncos, Roosters, Dogs, or Souths is a bit of wishful thinking. And even they lose out sometimes. All clubs do. Like the Panthers, who lose star after star, despite all their success, we need to be cap-diligent and do it the hard way; inside out. Reality.
PS: I've got no issues with people continually using the same ... ahhh... words... phrases. I like to question ideas though; apologies for any offence. Personally, I think slogans, mantras, catchphrases or buzzwords or whatever semantics we want to use are quite powerful weapons. Nothing wrong with wanting to improve the quality of recruitment, and that would be an continual objective of the club. I feel it's improved in the Ryles era. But also what's your suggestion actually? Just venting problems? Mass Sackings, Tigers style? Matt Cameron? Richo, the -crocodile roll? Or just "there needs to be an investigation?"
My solution begins the same way as always.
Identifying if we have a last minute problem in negotiations closing contracts.
Investigating if we do. Why - what is missing, what are we getting wrong, or what is it we can't compete on.
If we have a problem and reasons are found after review, investigation, feedback from potential clients, mangers etc. Understand our limitations and where we need improvement.
Implement a program / best practice program that directly rectifies systems or processes / poeple found lacking.
Implement a training package to upskill educate whomever needs it. And/ Or recruit whom you may identify as being best skilled in that area.
Thats the basics HOE. Work out if a problem exits, find best practice to rectify, educate those that need it, or buy the right person for the job.'I'm not asking for the world, just an honest assessment and improvement in fixing it, if there are regular and constant failures.
I just see it it as basic management, basic improvement. I don't need wholesale sackings, i just want it fixed in an honest / open and mature way.
Is that really too much to ask. Is it too much to ask for the club to even notify members / supporters alike of it as well. That can be done straight from the board at any time.
HOE, all problems in any organisation at some point in time are not known, especially by the masses, they exist but are not known or identified or acknowledged. It takes just one person to say something, that begins the ball rolling, another person with the power to take it on board does so, a review or investigation then either confirms it or denies it. At some point the masses become aware of the problem as if they knew it was there all along.
I do suspect what stage we are in.
If we want to be the best, we want a new era, new governance stability then surely it wouldn't take anything exceptional from management to obtain feedback from known players, player managers or our own staff on what if anything went wrong or that we are lacking in to get talent accross the line. To me it's just so basic in becoming a force.
The old way was to sack boards and infighting at management level, i'm not for that. I'm thinking more surgically to repair, fix, upgrade,educate who ever or whatever needs it. Of course if someone is so ineffective or makes conintuous mistakes after performance management , then an upgrade may be necessary. It may even need the creation of a new position, or new department. But let's find and acknowledge what is going wrong and for what reasons, because a lot of supporters are seeing chased talent slipping through our fingers and not being closed.
You won't though BE the way they are setup now like McEluff he only left because his time was up due to the constitutional rules.
They won't be actively looking for those solutions your saying because basically there throwing themselves under the bus.They have 9 yesr tenures I'd be surprised if the chairman or anyone else is ousted in that time for a better solution.
Are they ready to look at themselves in the mirror with regards to there processes around what your mentioning I don't know.But like you mention Houston we have a Problem.
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