In his first interview since being appointed Parramatta coach, Jason Ryles reveals his plan for Zac Lomax, Clint Gutherson’s future, and how he intends to steer the club to its first premiership since 1986.
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.At a meeting at Sydney’s Star Casino 16 months ago, Melbourne chairman Matt Tripp convinced Jason Ryles he would be better off turning down the head coach’s job at St George Illawarra in favour of becoming the heir apparent to Craig Bellamy at the Storm.
After turning down the one he was guaranteed for one that came with no guarantees, Ryles sat down with his manager, George Mimis, to discuss when the next “right opportunity” could present itself.Mimis, aware of the disharmony – or at least the murmurs of disharmony – between then-Parramatta coach Brad Arthur and the club’s management, made Ryles aware of a potential opening at what he described as “the Broncos of the west”.
How the Parramatta area was once renowned for its orchards and the hard-working culture of the people that was instilled by the manual labour of those who called Parramatta home. “I couldn’t speak highly enough of Clint from when I sat down and spoke to him and his buy in,” Ryles said. “We’ll just keep being open and honest with them. Then we’ll deal with it as it comes. That’s genuinely what’s going to happen. We sort of said we’ll speak more towards Christmas … and then we’ll just let it evolve that way.”The first blow of Ryles’ tenure was the club’s failure to retain Blaize Talagi.Instead, the rookie sensation signed a deal with western Sydney rivals Penrith.
But when Talagi decided to take his talents to the Nepean River, Ryles didn’t change his thinking around bringing a new face to the custodian role.The club’s recruitment manager Ben Rogers earmarked Iongi and a meeting was locked in for the following week. Panthers coach Ivan Cleary handed the fullback his NRL debut that week, reaffirming the Eels’ his opinion of him on the eve of their meeting.
Ryles has been in regular dialogue with the St George Illawarra winger but was unable to make any guarantees about what position he would play in 2025.“My conversations with Zac have been, ‘Let’s get back to training, let’s work on combinations and let’s see what’s best for the team’,” Ryles said. “So me little mate in Japan, Eddie, one of the first texts he sent me was ‘Players, staff and environment’ – in that order,” Ryles said.Getty
“And then the biggest part is, like I said before, ‘What’s the strengths in the group as a playing group?’ And then that’s what we’re going to play to. We’re not going to play like Melbourne, Roosters, Penrith. We’re going to play like Parramatta. To the strengths of that group.”
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