Eels Blogs

Replies

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  Jman September 27, 2026 at 12:43pm

  Yep want this fella long term at Parra 

   
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  Gucci September 27, 2026 at 12:50pm

  Smart decision, he needs to feel comfortable to get the best out of this roster. Looks like they have big plans to get some players in for 2028. Those players want to know who their coach will be in order to sign. Someone like Best won't sign if they don't have some security on what the joint will look like during his contract at the club. It's a strategic signing and it's smart, good decision by the board.
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  Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin September 27, 2026 at 1:14pm

  Ryles’ 40% win rate has come under the immense duress of having to oversee:

  • the largest clean-out in the club’s history
  • working under complete failures in Sarantinos, O’Neill and Rodgers, who were responsible for accepting such poor standards and dismantling the roster
  • dealing with what has arguably been the worst run of injuries in the NRL by a considerable margin

  A 40% win rate under those circumstances is actually a pretty solid return. More importantly, he’s now building the roster he wants, setting the standards he expects and laying the foundations with having a clear path for development into the nrl - unllike brad arthur who used reserve grade as a home for nomads

   
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    Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin > Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin September 27, 2026 at 1:36pm

    Parramatta should always be a pathways club,  not the shit we had in reserve grade before Ryles arrived 
  • Eli Stephens > Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin September 27, 2026 at 2:01pm

    Roster wise Ryles could have very easily gotten the spoon but the players are responding to him. My only thing is Ryles is also a part of recruitment so some of that is self inflicted. But mostly happy with his efforts so far 
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  Sneaky Pete September 27, 2026 at 1:46pm

  Agree he needs more time to clean up the cesspool that was left behind by BA and Sarantinos. 
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    Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin > Sneaky Pete September 27, 2026 at 2:08pm

    Yep
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  Axel September 27, 2026 at 1:55pm

  

  I think one the reasons for extending Ryles would be to provide more certainty to those looking at signing with the club come Nov 1st.
  Having Ryles signed long term, beyond '28, might give the club a better chance at securing a couple of major signings. 

  I am also hoping the club would have some performance reated clauses to ensure the coach is fulfilling his KPI's.
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    Poppa > Axel September 27, 2026 at 2:09pm

    You people may find this extract from AI research as interesting;

    While the forum quote slightly conflates the details—the "Saints" in question refers to the St George Illawarra Dragons (commonly nicknamed the Saints in the NRL), rather than the English Super League club St Helens (where Mike Rush was actually the long-serving CEO)—the core of the story is widely documented: 

    • The 2023 Dragons Negotiations: In mid-2023, Jason Ryles was the absolute frontrunner to take over as the head coach of the St George Illawarra Dragons. He famously walked away from a lucrative five-year contract offer at the eleventh hour. 
    • The Mike Rush Demand: Reports and rugby league insider circles (such as discussions tracked on LeagueUnlimited and 1Eyed Eel) revealed that during intense negotiations, Ryles demanded significant control over the football department. His absolute top target to bring across to run the overarching football department/CEO role was Mike Rush, who was managing St Helens at the time. 
    • The Board's Refusal: The Dragons' board strictly pushed back against letting a incoming coach hand-pick his own administrative boss. When they refused to accommodate this demand, Ryles ultimately chose to decline the job and stay with the Melbourne Storm before eventually signing with the Parramatta Eels for 2025.

    With the Parramatta Eels recently holding high-level talks with Mike Rush following the departure of Jim Sarantinos, this historical relationship has resurfaced as the primary reason why Rush has become a leading contender for the executive opening at Parramatta

     

    My read on this is that the Rush situation had been arising since the group got together during the last English Tour and these things were talked about..... I beieve that Saratinos was heavily involved in the process and indicated he was in his last year, Saratinos always reckoned and understood that Parra was light in this area. 
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      Axel > Poppa September 27, 2026 at 2:43pm

      The Mike Rush scenario might be real - I don't know, and neither do you. But if I'm a player looking at signing for the '28 season and beyond, I'd want to know that Ryles will be there for at least 2 years.