Earlier this evening, one hundred privileged Parramatta members were given a rare behind-the-scenes insights into the club’s vision at the Members Forum for 2026 and if it is anything to go by the Eels are building something really impressive. Something Special.
The panel included Jason Ryles (Head Coach), Jim Saratinos (CEO), Mark O'Neil (Head of Football) and Matthew Beach (Chairman).
While this blog won’t capture every detail shared on the night, below are the key themes discussed by each speaker.
Matthew Beach
Drawing a Line in the Sand on Lomax
Matthew Beach was the quietest of the bunch. He only really spoke when spoken to and did not get many fan questions, but he presented himself well and in a professional manner. He seems like he has a good head on his shoulders, a smart operator who knows what he is doing and looks well suited to the role he has within the club.
Like I said, he did not speak all that much, but he did not hide and was not afraid to address the elephant in the room regarding Zac Lomax. He said he could not talk or share too much as the matter is before the courts, but he stated it straight and honestly — the Storm offers are not good enough. We do not want financial compensation. We want to strengthen our football department and roster if we allow Lomax to play in Melbourne.
We Won't Roll Over
He said he does not want it to be a court matter, but the club makes no apologies that it is. We will continue to fight the good fight for the club and Melbourne will have a fight on its hands. It does not sound like this will be resolved any time soon.
Mark O’Neil
Building It the Right Way: Pathways Over Panic Buying
I know there is a lot of criticism around MON. Some of it is warranted, but he also presented himself well, fronted up, answered all questions and did not back away from anything.
He said the key focus at the club right now is junior and pathway development. We have a lot of kids coming through who can lead the club into the future over the next five to seven years.
Patience on Recruitment targets: outside back and a middle
On recruitment, he said the club is actively in the market for players who fit the culture and style of play Ryles wants to build. He also stated that for every target or signing, a background check is done on the player’s character before anything is signed to ensure they are the right fit, not just in terms of playing style but culturally as well.
We are in the market for an outside back and a middle forward, but he emphasised the club’s stance on remaining patient and waiting for the right players to become available. He believes that if they are not careful and spend money just for the sake of it, when the right player comes along who fits our style and roster needs, we risk not having the funds available.
So the money is there. We are just remaining vigilant and waiting for the right player and opportunity.
Keon Koloamatangi
He also fronted up and was honest that we were heavily in for Keon from Souths and had a red hot crack at it, but ultimately could not get it done. He did not say it specifically, but it was hinted that the fifth year offered by the Dragons was the breaking point.
He mentioned we currently have 28 of 30 roster spots filled.
Jim Sarantinos
Understanding the Cap Game: It Is Not Always What It Looks Like
Jim followed up on most of what MON said and also gave insight into the salary cap. He used Dylan Brown’s departure as an example, explaining that just because someone like him leaves and we do not replace him with a like for like signing does not mean we have the full value of his salary sitting there in the cap.He said that in most cases when big name players depart, a small percentage of their salary goes towards topping up other contracts and preparing for future re signings.
Raising the Bar at Home
He also mentioned that after he, Ryles, MON and Beach went on the United Kingdom tour late last year, the club will be changing up its game day and match day experiences in certain areas. The aim is to bring more of an English Premier League feel to games and make CommBank Stadium a daunting place for away sides to visit.
He used the Round 3 game against the Bulldogs last year as an example and the disappointment of having more Eels fans there but the Bulldogs being louder.
Eyes on the Bigger Stage
He also mentioned that the Round 7 game against the Bulldogs this year at CommBank will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Premiership. It will be a big event with the 1986 team present at the Sunday 4pm blockbuster.
Vegas
He said that based on discussions with the NRL, the indication is that we will likely be one of the teams heading to Las Vegas in 2027. Nothing is official yet, but they are hoping to finalise it in the coming weeks.
Jason Ryles
A Coach With a Clear Plan
Absolute great talker, keeps you invested and by listening to him talk you find yourself so intrigued by his vision in what he is building and where we are going.
Back the Kids without pressure, But Win Now
Jason Ryles was an outstanding speaker. He keeps you invested, and listening to him talk, you find yourself genuinely intrigued by his vision and what he is building.
He followed up on some of what Mark O’Neil mentioned. When asked about debutants in 2026, he was calm and measured, telling fans not to put too much pressure on the young players. We have a good crop coming through and their time will come.
He gave insight into what a game week looks like for the players. He also spoke about Jonah Pezet and why the one year deal works. He reiterated that he does not want to block pathway players, but having Jonah in 2026 allows us to win now while the younger players continue their development.
Ryles is excited by the new interchange rules and believes we will benefit due to our depth and versatility. He gave Bailey Simonsson a big wrap and believes he is in for a big year, noting that his effort areas last season were through the roof despite an injury plagued year.
Game Plans
In terms of game plan, not much changes in attack. We will play fast and direct with short passes and second phase play. Defence has been a major focus this off season, particularly around the edges and ruck.
He has no inflated expectations, but he wants to win now. The goal is to finish as high on the ladder as possible.
Unless something major goes wrong, he looks like the man to lead Parramatta for a long time.
Final Thoughts
Something Is Building. Overall, it was a great evening, a great initiative with valuable insights from the club.
From what I heard from these four key figures, we are in good hands. The club is heading in the right direction and 2026 shapes as an exciting year for Parramatta. The future looks bright.
Replies
ParraLurker , an outstanding blog. Kudos for sharing your invaluable thoughts with the community.
Parra Dice, that's a key point as Poppa aluded to. The alignment up top, with clear purpose and vision, is a primary reason we're heading in the right direction.
It stands to reason that successful business figures, including long standing relationships now being rebuilt after the Dark Ages and the cap scandals that almost destroyed our footy club, will increasingly be attracted back to our brand. We are now in good shape off field, culturally and environment wise, and hopefully that translates on field as soon as possible.
Brand Finance, which values AFL and NRL sporting brands, ranked Parramatta the third-most valuable NRL brand in 2025. Only the Panthers and Broncos were ahead of us. We ranked above the Storm, Bulldogs and Roosters.
Not sure about official TPAs. They were dramatically falling even before the NRL stopped publishing them six or so years ago. Though we may not be assembling $15 to $17m rosters within a $12m cap, like some of the obvious suspects do backed by billionaire benefactors with deep pockets, the upward trajectory is clear.
Brighter days. Patience.
Great read, thanks bro
Great read.
Fantastic insight, you could sense this was taking place more than 12 months ago. The stance we are taking re Zac Lomax is the culmination of a lot of good work going on at the club. No way would we have done this 2 or more years ago.
I'd be interested to hear a response from some of the folk on here who have consistently criticised the front office at almost every opportunity.
Thanks Lurker, a great share mate. Really interesting.
I've got plenty to say about MON, but in the interest of club unity and the need to be positive from now on, i'll suck it up, and say nothing.
The club has got a major focus on match day experience and making CommBank intimidating for the opposition. It was a key talking point at our SGA meeting end of last year. It won't be forcing fans to do anything, but emphasising and building on what many Australian crowds already do. The club wants CommBank loud and covered in Blue and Gold whenever we play.
Its about time, top sporting teams around the world make their home grounds hostile environments and its about time we followed suit. The current pre game dance cam and on the field interviews (which nobody can hear anyway) isnt cutting it.
Great blog Lurker, thanks for taking the time to wrote it up. Sounds like great things for the future.
Excellent write up Lurker. These sort of event summaries are great for us who can't attend.
Thanks Lurker, I was also there last night, and you must have got all the food as when I go there i had only fruit to choose from.
Yes you are spot on - Beach to me is a very shrewd guy, seems quiet but knows his stuff. He got an applause at the end of this answer to Damien Kelly re: Lomax and as you said he makes no apologies for the stance.
It was also apparent from MON that the club feel more ONE club and the badge is the focus here. They all seemed to make mention of the fulltime aspect of dieticians / coaching staff all the way through to enable the younger guys to come on and see that the club is one entity and somewhat consistent They all seem unitied - I am not saying the club was not previously, but we have to understand that the BA era had issues at board level etc. They made a good point saying that we invest more into staff and than buying players junior wise as we have the talent, its more about retaining the right ones, hence not having to pay.
Ryles and MON (forget which one) made a point that when we lost Brown there was some fans thinking why did we not get like for like - they particularly mentioned the retention / upgrade of players and also that we need to get the right fit for the club, and that you need to sometimes wait till this happens.
As Lurker mentioned about Pezet case in point; he is here for a year and will assist other players and we want to keep the young halves coming through and not block their pathways.
The club seems v united.
As Lurker mentioned the UK trip seemed interesting and I would have liked to have heard a bit more about this and hopefully the club can do something later and post it on the website, as they all spoke highly of it.
-
3
-
4
-
5
-
6
-
7
of 9 Next