Parramatta Eels coach Jason Ryles is being defended for his long-term vision, despite the club enduring another tough season in the 2025 NRL campaign.
After finishing 15th last year with a 7-17 record, the Eels currently sit second-last under Ryles with just five wins and 12 losses and seven games remaining.
Their points differential of -149 is equal third-worst in the league alongside South Sydney, and they are just two points clear of the Gold Coast Titans in the wooden spoon race.
Ryles has drawn criticism over selections, most notably benching Dylan Brown and playing him at hooker before dropping him altogether ahead of his reported $13 million switch to the Newcastle Knights in 2026.
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Yet, veteran journalist Andrew Webster believes Ryles has delivered on his role to rebuild the struggling club.
“I think he has done an exceptional job,” Webster said on NRL 360.
“The five wins is irrelevant. He copped so much flak about the decision to move Gutho (Clint Gutherson) on when things weren’t working and things have started to turn.
They might have only won five games, but they have been in a hell of a lot of them over the second half of the season. He has got that club going in the right direction.”
Fellow panellist Paul Crawley admitted he initially questioned the call to let go of Clint Gutherson, but the rise of Isaiah Iongi, who has emerged as the Eels’ top performer in 2025, has vindicated the decision.
“I questioned the Gutho call at the start of the year, but the more you see of Iongi you think long-term he has probably made the right call,” Crawley said.
“What I have liked about Jason Ryles this year is that through a really difficult time he could have easily lost his head, and he kept composure and kept calm and I’ve rarely seen him lose his temper.
The decision with Dylan Brown, I have heard people knock it and say it has given up on the season, but it is the opposite. It has given them a look at what may be.”
Dan Ginnane added that while Ryles is benefiting from the typical grace period given to first-year coaches, he’s making the right moves for a club in transition.
“He is doing exactly what you want for a team in a rebuild,” Ginnane said.
“He’s not worried about wins and losses. He’s clearing out the players that he knows are not going to be there like Dylan Brown. He is open in saying, the future is now.
The first year coach always gets a honeymoon year, but this is the template of how all clubs in a rebuild should be doing it.”
Braith Anasta praised the expansive style of football the Eels are playing under Ryles, especially given the absence of Mitchell Moses for most of the year, and drew comparisons to the rebuild being undertaken by Cameron Ciraldo at the Bulldogs.
“They are playing a really expansive style even without Moses and they have missed him for a lot of the year, so that’s hurt them,” Anasta said.
“Their defence was really poor at the start of the year because he changed all the systems, but that’s improved as the season has gone on.”
Still, Anasta warned the next phase of Parramatta’s rebuild will be pivotal to future success.
“If you look at Cameron Ciraldo at the Bulldogs they culled a lot of players and they went 10 steps backwards before they started to get to where they are now, and I see a comparison there with Ryles," he said.
"The big question is Ryles has culled a lot and they have gone a few steps backwards, so now it is about who they bring in."