Melbourne Storm in staggering move to stop Jason Ryles poaching players to Parramatta
Ryles won't be allowed to bring in any Storm players in his first year in charge of the Eels as part of his exit agreement.
Newly minted Parramatta coach Jason Ryles will have to look away from Melbourne for new recruitments as part of his exit agreement with the Storm. Nine days after he was appointed as Eels coach on a four-year deal starting in 2025, Ryles was told by the Storm that he could leave at week's end to begin his work with the struggling NRL side.
While Trent Barrett will remain as interim Eels coach until the end of this campaign, Ryles can work in the background on all planning decisions for next season. The former Melbourne assistant coach will undoubtedly now turn his attention to other clubs' players as he looks to turn around Parramatta's fortunes. And foreseeing the possibility of the coach poaching some of Melbourne's talented young crop, as part of the deal to let him go early he agreed to not bring in any Storm players in his first year in charge of the Eels.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports the agreement is not just verbal but is in writing and is similar to what other clubs have stipulated with other coaches in the game. The likes of Bob Fulton and Phil Gould had an agreement in the past not to poach each other's players without the other's permission.
And for Ryles, it will prevent him from raiding Melbourne's prolific backline talent as he searches for Clint Gutherson's long-term fullback replacement at Parramatta. This means he will be unable to try and lure Ryan Papenhuyzen or Sua Fa'alogo to the club.
"On behalf of everyone at the Melbourne Storm, we congratulate Jason on his appointment to senior coach at the Eels," said Storm CEO Justin Rodski earlier this week. "Given the significance of this opportunity for Jason, we have agreed an early release is in the best interest of both parties.
"Jason is a quality person and coach, we thank him for his contribution in 2024 and wish him, his wife Alana and his family all the best for the future."
Jason Ryles' first task is to secure services of Blaize Talagi
Ryles' release from Melbourne will allow the former assistant to focus on building Parramatta's roster and attempt to re-sign the likes of young gun Blaize Talagi, who is currently off-contract. The 19-year-old has attracted interest from multiple rival clubs, but Ryles would undoubtedly wish to keep him at the Eels.
He also faces a raft of other decisions on many of the club's starting roster. Only two of Parramatta's top 30 are completely locked down beyond the end of this season, Mitch Moses and Junior Paulo. Others including five-eighth Dylan Brown have contracts for longer but have options in their favour that they must decide whether to take up.
It means the vast majority of the Eels' squad will become free agents in November, so Ryles must make swift and concise decisions on who he wants and doesn't want moving forward. His other dilemma is despite sitting rock bottom on the NRL ladder, the Eels currently have very little salary cap space for new signings without cutting some of their top-heavy roster.
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Eels captain Gutherson has already conceded changes are likely to come with Ryles coming in, while also confirming he is open to a move away from fullback to keep Talagi if required. "There's a lot of older boys there that might get a tap on the shoulder, might not, it's just the way it is, and you have to deal with it," Gutherson said last week.
"I'm no different to every other player here - if they want me to move position, I'm more than happy to." Ryles must also decide the make-up of his coaching staff for next season, with players keen for Barrett to stay on.
with AAP
