There's a growing segment of historians who demonstrate that empires do not rise and fall through a single, decisive event.
Instead small, incremental, sometimes unnoticeable changes are made until the result has already occurred.
The challenge for Jason Ryles lies in changing not just Parramatta’s personnel, but their attacking and defensive styles.
A change that is being made incrementally instead of all at once.
For so long under the Brad Arthur regime, the focus was on sending large bodies through the middle to lay the platform before spinning it wide.
That method now lies outdated as the smaller, more mobile forward we once saw in the early 2000s are preferred.
Penrith built their 4 time premiership pack around suffocating defence and a forward pack built for speed and intensity, rather than pure brute force.
Bookends James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota both weigh less than 110kg with JFH starting his career as a lock, while the 13 in Isaah Yeo made the transition from outside back and the edge into the middle as a ball player.
They were rolling with this middle, while the Eels carried heavyweight props in Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Junior Paulo. Effective when having the ball, but too heavy to handle when possession tipped against them.
So far Jason Ryles has clearly demonstrated a focus on a more mobile forward pack. Paulo has dropped weight, Jack Williams has shifted into the front row, while the likes of Luca Moretti and Matt Doorey have been part of the middle rotation when fit.
Perhaps most telling has been the recruitment and immediate impact of Dylan Walker.
The former centre and five-eighth has become key cog coming off the bench where his versatility and skill allow the Eels to go at the edges in attack.
Walker tips the scales at around 100kg, the same as former Eels lock Daniel Wagon.
In many ways, the game is heading towards the style once spearheaded by Brian Smith.
Unfortunately for Jason Ryles he will not have 4 internationals fall into his lap courtesy of the Super League War to try and drive home his changes.
As the weeks have gone in the 2025 season, Parramatta has gradually shown more confidence in their ball movement.
The return of Mitchell Moses and the recruitment of Dylan Walker have been key factors here. Once Walker enters the fray, the Eels seem to attack more towards the edges with Junior Paulo popping up wider where his size and footwork create more headaches for defenders.
Looking at the backline and Isaiah Iongi has shown that he was more than ready for NRL football following his recruitment last year.
The speed, agility and underrated ball playing of the fullback has slotted into an Eels backline that was crying out for a more creative custodian last year.
While Clint Gutherson was everything and more for the Eels throughout his tenure, by the end his lack of speed was glaringly obvious and a key issue for a very slow backline.
Combined with the recruitments of Josh Addo-Carr and Zac Lomax, Parramatta is starting to craft a powerful and speedy backline.
Yet to fully realise their full strength back 5, it’s clear what Ryles prefers. And that’s either a speedy back, or a powerful one.
Like many of their more fancied opponents, Parramatta is looking to their back 5 to take on more of their metre-eating workload than they did under Brad Arthur.
Lomax and Bailey Simonsson have led this change with their combination of size and strength allowing them to win first contact. It’s a shame neither have managed to really be on the field together with Sean Russell continuing to feature in first grade.
That being said, Russell, JAC and Will Penisini haven’t shied away from their workload.
What is clear though, is the change underway for the Eels.
What they could do with though is an emergence of a Nathan Hindmarsh-like backrower on an edge and a powerful bench prop capable of flipping the momentum after the 20th minute. Sam Tuivaiti was starting to show that ability until his injury.
The Eels are far from the finished product and there is unlikely to be a game where it all “clicks”.
But the Ryles era continues marching on as it looks to rebuild from the ashes of 2024.
Replies
Just one mate, do yourself a favour and tell the missus it cost a lot less than it actually did - speaking from experience lol :)
As much as this sucks to say, unfortunately you just cannot click fingers and boom we are premiership favourites. Even if BA was still here, we were delaying inevitable. Yes club should have been more prepared but it is the way it is. When they say be patient well we have to be as when BA left, a rebuild was needed, rebuilds take time.
I mean i talk to Souths fans all the time and they constantly say 43 years to me. I hope we don't go the North Sydney route of 77 years before they were kicked out. Only 2 premierships (1921 & 1922) and 3 GF's in their history.
I have no problems with the rise of the Ryles era.
Its hard to judge how smart anyone is without knowing them and getting inside their head.
I read that Einstein's IQ was only 167 and I think, wow, that's not that high, I thought it would be higher BUT there are limitations and relativities on everyone (btw I understand 175 was the smartest ever). We have people here say we are certain wooden spooners and others saying not quite rock bottom. Everyone seems to be so absolute.....if you are that absolute, don't try and run a business, you will never get it to work.....you need to understand your limitations within the realm of your ambitions.
Everyone here wants to micro manage the circumstances, personally I want to understand why everyone rejoices over Matto and Cartwright being left out by Ryles in the manner he has. I am not really in a position to understand the circumstances so I keep questioning to the answer becomes apparent. Others on here, over 90% are certain they are right with their opinions likened to Ryles actions. OK I forgot the selfishness of Matto, that must be the reason, because its always thrown out there (read my sarcasm)....I cannot judge people that way. RCG is talked about as a bad judgement loss for us, "strange" I heard he was a pretty weird personality as well....hey! don't let the obvious parralels get in the way.
Now I do not think Ryles is that small minded, I believe he must have a good reason and am happy to leave my questions on the table. I will go away when the answer's are forthcoming. i.e I am accepting he is right (relucktantly) but I will not let it stand in the way of saying Ryles still adds positiveness to our position overall.
Interesting everyone tells me our forwards are shit, BUT in general they meet the needs of the smaller mobile version so suited to the modern game. Everyone agrees with that but comes out with our need for the opposite? Hands up those that haven't said you contradict yourself? You want to define the forward recruits exactly with what we have (smallish mobile), with what we want (large and powerfu) and what we think we need and want,which is both of those versions....no pack from what I have seen this year has systematically dominated anyone.
The Dogs, Storm have not, Canberra and Cronulla don't dominate (can do on balance).....so what do we want? Simple! Mutts answered it with "better troops", their build is semantic?
Rather than trying to help Ryles by picking his players maybe we should be looking at the side as a total unit being blended by him to meet the needs. e.g. I don't think that we are picking the best players for the side but I can see that he is structuring a frame that these lessor players (you pick them) will grow into.
My further guess is that Ryles will pick up the right players as opportunities offer/occur. The war chest bullshit seems fine, but unless you have the right cattle, how much money you have in the kitty becomes irrelevant.
When we listen to some of the people on here they see themselves 100% right or totally wrong. No one is actually that smart, none of you would argue with Bellamey over tactics or assurances but how do we know that Ryles is not smarter than Bellamy at their respective careerpoints/stages.
Well someone on here will come up with a statistic that analyses that point and people wiill give the debate to the statistic. The problem is playing field is very different, not the least being the cultures of their respective clubs and the .personell within them.....throw on top of that Bellamys ássociation with what Hoey would call their sugar daddy's.
I have been critical in ways of Ryles this season but there is no way I want to go out and replace him, unless the NRL version of Jesus Christ turns up....there's only about 2 or 3 of them. Yes I think he will be better than Wayne Bennett in the long run from a Parra perspective. i.e. he may not be as effective or even as good as Bennett, but I am a long term Parra supporter, i don't want a 2 year sugar pill and then a re arrangement of the new deck chairs.
Your last paragraph sums it up well for me.
Regarding forwards, specfically middles, I am pretty set on us not signing many, especially "big boppers".
I'd replace Paulo with another elite prop for 2027, a few off contract then. but even then maybe Tuivati is enough.
Otherwise, I'd rather run with the Moretti's, Doorey's and so on. And if we sign middles I'd rather pacey ones like Bullemor.
Backrow, 5/8, combined lock/9 are the 3 signings I'd make for next year, and even 5/8 we can throw Volkman or Twidle. It's really time we need.
There is only 1 Moretti
and 1 Doorey
why the plural?
I agree and never have I ever suggested that we were close to a Premiership after BA. I do have an issue with how the BA situation was handled. Through a lack of decisiveness (or Board experience) we threw away 2024 completely. Wasted an entire season. Sat on our hands with R&R, dithered over appointing a new coach. It's no wonder Ryles has taken a scorched earth policy once he's arrived as the Top 30 was left to stagnate with zero leadership or direction. Our halves remained unsigned was just the cherry on top of the mess he inherited. So here we are in the midst of a complete rebuild and another season down the bottom of the table. I venture to say this could have and should have been handled better. But anyway here we are. Onward and upward.
My question and concern is how has O'Neil got through this unscathed?, BA payed the price for his role in our predicament, O'Neil should have as well.
Easily cmon HKF the coach is the fall guy in how we are setup all there doing is changing the face at the top of the cliff.Everyone else is a support mechanism who answer to a HCs decision making around the FG side.
Nevermind what's going on underneath it.
It doesn't have to be good enough coming through as long as it's a pathway to the FG side it's job done.
MoN and the crew are a protected spieces get used to that this is the model the clubs created for stability this is what we have to expect when it comes to ending a premiership drought.Hang your hat on it.As we as a club have created this.
I still argue that MON has no need to be a protected species, I can only assume that we cannot find someone better.
I have always maintained his position is titled wrong. Let's assume he has been given a set of KPI's, I do not know what his results are but if they are as bad as everyone thinks, there is no need to protect him.
This mystery is probably no different to Matto and a lessor extent Cartwright. I say lessor extent Cartwright as I understand that his second grade form is not a standout. Matto is the best forward on the field in the last few reserve grade games. So he can't be sacked totally and MON cannot be sacked overall......
Slightly different angle, BA was exceptionally good in bringing out players strengths assuming they had the ability to start with. Cartwight, Manu, Wilkes, RCG being examples....It would seem that BA's biggest problem was identifying untapped talent..... a weakness he could have worked on if he coached by taking advice, when you know you have a weakness. Any good manager would do this.
Small forwards, no platform = going side to side.
* to note other packs have big boopers.
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