When Jason Ryles arrived at Parramatta, he didn’t just pull the roster apart, he smashed and raised a few eyebrows which had fans worried.
Ryles first move was to move on favourite son and the “King of Parramatta”, Clint Gutherson. He also showed the door to established players Reagan Campbell Gillard and Mika Sivo and didn’t play Bryce Cartwright all season.
He barely played Ryan Matterson, who was loaned out to Warrington after just four games on the bench, and then moved on Joe Ofahengaue on to the English Super League.
Ryles dropped Newcastle-bound Kiwi international Dylan Brown to blood some younger players then returned him as a hooker, centre before giving him a brief run in his usual position of five-eighth.
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Some fans and experts were left scratching their heads. But Ryles had other plans in mind and completed one of the quickest and most promising rebuilds that the game has seen to prove he has the guts and intelligence to put himself on the line.
In a game where coaches are heavily scrutinised by the fans and media, Ryles went about his business and barely raised a pulse.
He also showed that he is a very good coach with the potential to be one of the great coaches of the modern era.
Ryles put Isaiah Iongi – a player with one first-grade game – into the fullback spot and he quickly looked like a seasoned veteran with his toughness and calmness under pressure. He had a few minor hiccups along the way but by the end of the season he was one of the in-form fullbacks in the game.
He also signed Josh Addo-Carr whose career looked like it was going backwards but he played like the old Foxx and earnt himself a Kangaroos call-up at season’s end.
Zac Lomax slotted straight in and was outstanding, with his tough ball carries and heavy work rate and became a weapon under the high ball which added another dimension to the side and formed a strong combination with classy centre Will Penisini.
Sean Russell improved out of sight and has turned into a very good defensive centre who also linked very well with Addo-Carr, solving the right-edge defence that had plagued the Eels for the past few seasons.
Ryles tried Ronald Volkman at halfback in the absence of Mitchell Moses before giving South Sydney recruit Dean Hawkins a shot and his game also evolved. He now looks a very good halfback with a strong kicking game and game management skills
Then there was Joash Papilii who played very well at the back in Iongi’s absence and showed glimpses of brilliance when shifted to five-eighth, although he still has some learning to do ion that position if he wants to make it his own.
In the forward pack, Kelma Tuilagi, Kiitione Kautoga and Jack Williams played great football and the likes of Luca Moretti, Matt Doorey and Jordan Samrani showed the Eels have plenty of depth in the back row.
Dylan Walker was signed mid-season and eventually made the No.13 jersey his own and his recruitment added another dimension to Parra’s attack.
Ryles then moved ball-playing middle J’maine Hopgood into the front row where he looks like he belongs, alongside veteran Junior Paulo.
Riley Smith had a great start to his career and ended the the year as the starting hooker.
In the same mould as Reed Mahoney, he has a great pass, solid defence and he showed that he has a good kicking game out of dummy half when he needed.
The signing of Tallyn De Silva also brought spark off the bench and although he copped a few sprays from Moses after some very ordinary passes, he quickly improved and learnt from those mistakes.
Parra have signed Dragons veteran Jack de Belin, who will add toughness to the middle forwards next year.
The Eels need to decide on five-eighth between Hawkins and Papalii, who could be anything.
With all this in mind and a full off-season to gel without any distractions of player movement, Ryles can build on the enterprising style of footy they have initiated.
With all this in mind It may not be long before Ryles is quoting legendary coach Jack Gibson after the Eels’s first premiership in 1981: “Ding, Dong The Witch Is Dead.”
Next year will by the 40th season since Parra’s last premiership but the future is now looking bright
