Jason Ryles is excited about the “blank canvas” he gets to work with at Parramatta, with the rookie coach discussing a round 1 showdown with his mentor, positional headaches and the club’s search for a new captain in his first major media conference.
A lot has happened in the past 12 months at the Eels, with long-time coach Brad Arthur moved on, while skipper Clint Gutherson is now at the Dragons, player of the year Reagan Campbell-Gillard has signed with the Titans, and try-scoring machine Maika Sivo is off to the UK.
It presents a huge challenge for Ryles, who is signed for the next four seasons, but the rookie coach is looking forward to what lies ahead as he tries to create a new culture at a club that almost finished with the wooden spoon.
“I don’t have anything to go off in regards to my experiences with the day to day (at the club),” he said.
“The exciting part for me is that we’re resetting. We’re not starting again, but we’ve got a bit of a blank canvas to work with.
“The most impressive thing for me at the moment has been the buy in and the commitment of the players. They’re very compliant and they’ve got a work ethic about them before I got here.
“It’s about resetting that environment and making it one that they never want to leave and they can be the best they can be.”
It’s almost fitting that the former representative prop will begin his NRL coaching career against the Melbourne Storm after Ryles enjoyed two stints at the powerhouse club under Craig Bellamy.
The Storm has never lost a round 1 game under Bellamy, and Ryles didn’t want to give them any extra motivation ahead of their game at AAMI Park.
“I’m not saying anything here because I know it’ll get played in the meeting,” he laughed.
“I’m looking forward to it. It’s a great challenge and no one has done it before, so we’ll go down there and have a free throw at the stumps and see how we go.”
While several players have left, Ryles was able to land Josh Addo-Carr after the speedster was sacked by the Bulldogs following a failed roadside drug test that showed cocaine in his system.
The pair worked together at the Storm, which is why Ryles felt comfortable signing him when other clubs may have shied away from a player who is serving a four-match ban.
“There was an opportunity to speak to him. Had I not known him and had the relationship that I do have with him, I probably wouldn’t be talking about him now,” Ryles said.
“Because I’ve had that experience and had quite a bit of time with him, I know him really well and know what he can do for a footy team.
“He’s made a mistake and paid a price for it, but now it’s all about what we can do going forward.
“I’ve been really clear with Josh. There are no guarantees that he’ll be playing in the first 13 in our team. He’s got a lot of work to do.”
Ryles has been impressed with how the Eels have handled the pre-season so far, but he has some big decisions to make over the next few months as he settles on his fullback and hooker.
New recruit Isaiah Iongi is the logical choice to replace Gutherson at fullback after a strong apprenticeship at the Panthers, but finding a new captain isn’t as clear cut with a few obvious candidates.
Junior Paulo has been the co-captain in the past, but halfback Mitchell Moses appears to be leading the race, with Ryles declaring him a “natural leader” and in the conversation for the role once he returns to training.
“I reckon we’ll be really clear on that, and the players will have a huge influence on who is the next captain. They’ll pretty much pick who that’ll be with a bit of help from me and the coaches,” he said.
“That will be at the back end of January. There are some obvious candidates, but they might come in and not want to do it.”
