Eels Blogs

So while i lay around not feeling well on a cold and wet Sunday, i thought if not Bennett than who would be the right person to take us forward? Many would say "Anyone" and that would be a very reactionary decision based on the hatred of the current establishment. When the decision comes, and i believe it will at some point in 2024, to move on from BA the club need to figure two things. 1) What type of style do they want to install that we play? 2) With this squad do we go all in or do we rebuild or try and reboot by giving and taking a few elements? The latter is only good if the rookies that are ready in 2025 are great, some can be. 

Now is Bennett going to be the head coach of Parramatta? More likely no, not due to interest from Bennett but by Parramatta. The board have never sacked a coach and never hired one either, so the process is all quite new. As for Bennett, nothing is signed, until it is he can still be a candidate even though it is 98% certainty he is off to Souths. But as Lloyd Christmas said in dumb and dumber "So you're telling me there is a chance?".

Anyway i wanted to deep dive a few candidates that could be in the pipeline for us when BA moves on.

Jason Ryles: I believe he will be the favourite once Bennett to Souths is completed. Ryles is a bit of a golden child in NRL circles, been with Melbourne for close to a decade. Also spent time with Sydney City, England and Australian Rugby and was the assistant of U20's NSW Origin team under Fitzgibbon. He has been around the traps, that is the positive to Ryles. He has been around, seen different coaches, different codes, different styles of attack and defence, different ways to approach a squad. He nearly accepted the Dragons job for 2024, before deciding to go back to Melbourne with hope of taking over there with Bellamy overseeing him. Bellamy is on a year by year basis at the moment, Ryles wants the Melbourne job but with interest in Dragons he has shown for the right job he would go. Melbourne looks like it wont open anytime soon so he could jump. Is Parramatta right for him? Well halves are set, most of the spine is too. Forwards, though ageing, are good to great also. Only thing Ryles is he hasn't been in control of a team much at all. Only time was when Robinson had COVID and he took over for one game. That is his only experience of running a squad at a high level. High level i mean involved with a club (Harold Matts to NRL). He has always been an assistant. Now that is not to say an assistant only cannot be a great coach, Bellamy was an assistant only at Brisbane before going to Melbourne. Another concern is the Melbourne coaching tree, bit like New England Patriots under Bill Belichieck. Not many have gone onto big success, we have had two of them. Kearney was a failure and BA has been good but not enough to win a comp. Madge won a comp and O'Brien is hot and cold in Newcastle. Is Ryles the next in the list? Overall, upon reading more into Ryles the more i'm ok with him. He has tons of experience in the game in assistant role, HC role he might be ready for. Also, going around to different teams can help with getting assistants. Barrett knows Ryles and might be kept as it is better to have someone there to tell the coach who's who in the zoo for that transition period.

Michael Maguire: He has a clause that allows him to take an NRL job. Madge wants an NRL job, he has the passion for it. I like Madge for that reason, he has passion and heart. Would i like him at Parramatta? Yes and no. Yes as he has won a comp in both NRL and ESL, very experienced, hard nosed and will give 110% no matter what. No for the reason of his hard nosed approach. Not that i have an issue with it, but NRL players today are softer and less hardened than they used to be. I feel this current roster would roll their eyes at Madge from day one, as even though he has the premiership ring he has still been sacked twice. The Tigers job was a loss loss, Benji is only now starting to get signings due to him as a player and Shane Richardson behind the scenes. Had Madge had Richardson could have been a lot different. But at Souths, the players went off him and went off him fast. That is my concern, if you want a coach that could go all in and perhaps win in a year or two, Madge can do it, but can he get the players to buy in after having BA for so long? Someone like Bennett or Bellamy have the rings and respect already, Madge would not.

Ryan Carr: He was touted the heir apparant to BA when brought in to the club in 2020 after a successful year at Featherstone Rovers year prior. I have mentioned i work with someone who's wife's niece is married to Ryan Carr, so he has spoken to him quite a bit. He mentioned Carr was set to take over around 2022 and BA would move to a new role. 2021 he extended til 2024 and Carr decided to move on post 2022 to hopefully get a HC role. Last year at Dragons he did a good job considering, did not hurt his stocks what so ever. The thing on the side of Carr is he knows most of the squad, they know him so there is no getting to know you sessions. Plus the style of play they would know also, no big adjustment period either. Concerns on Carr? Well inexperience, he is fairly new to the role as coach, his NSW cup teams did fine without being spectacular. But other than that Carr is not a bad shout. Though Carr would be better suited to a rebuild.

Josh Hannay: Bit of an unsung hero around the NRL. Slater raves about his input into the recent success of QLD of late, Fitzgibbon kept him at Cronulla to honour his deal for one more year than decided to keep him as to how good he is. Hannay did a great job with Cronulla in 2021 after Morris was sacked, nearly getting them into the 8. He also was interim at NQ when Green was sacked in 2020, not as good results but the team was dreadful too. Hannay seems to get better and better and has been around to different spots too which has helped his development. Concerns could be him being a bit laid back and more of an X's and O's coach. Nothing wrong with that but X's and O's coaches are better equipped to assistant roles. Hannay though is not a bad appointment for Parramatta and not someone that i could see being the coach however.

Justin Holbrook: Attacking mastermind, defence however? Meh. 2020 10th, 2021 10th, 2022 13th. That is where GC ranked in defence under Holbrook, making the semi's once in 2021. Was he hard done by? A little, i think it showed he got the most out of GC while he was there but his defences showed they didn't improve. Holbrook has been around, Bulldogs, Dragons and was with Parra as U20's coach. Went to Sydney City as assistant before taking St. Helens. But with what Kristian Woolf did after he left could be an indicator that it might be St. Helens themselves as oppose to who is coaching. To me, Holbrook i feel doesn't fit Parra. I feel we need to go with a defensive mastermind, Holbrook is a mastermind on the other side of the ball. 

Willie Peters: Bit of a left field option. Currently at Hull KR where he has them sitting equal 1st, 4th on F/A. He got them to the Challenge Cup final last year. Was assistant at Manly, then Souths under Bennett then Newcastle when they made the finals in 2020. Might be too left field for Parramatta but he could be a nice addition in the future, even if we got Bennett he could have be a nice heir to take over. Although, he was sacked by Manly due to an altercation at a pub with some of the staff, but funny how they made finals that year and year after he was sacked they finished 15th.

Michael Cheika: I am not keen on this idea at all, it is super risky, super left field and unproven. He is a massive swing to take a chance on, would Parramatta take that swing? Definately not. Cheika suits Souths or Sydney City, connections and also they are clubs that are willing to take risks at coaches like this. His only experience is coaching Lebanon at the 2022 World Cup. He did a fine job, but if you look at him in Super Rugby, he is really charismatic and his stats are fine. Did win Super Rugby title with NSW, did ok with the Wallabies but with the sport dying here in Australia i do not blame him trying League out. It is a super risk, as to why i am not keen on it. If he was named as Parra coach i will back him but Parra board would never agree to Cheika, considering how conservatitve they are.

Overall if i was to hire one, i would lean towards Ryles or even Peters for something different. Ryles diverse resume leads to assistants and players knowing him and happy to work with him. Plus Ryles seems to be liked by players. I knew a player at my local team that played under him in Wollongong comp, he adored him but said he held everyone accountable but his consistency and way he spoke to everyone made you want to run through a brick wall for him. He also had Kimmorley and hated him, so hopefully Ryles is not BA 2.0 in being a mate.