Newly-unveiled Eels coach Jason Ryles hasn’t even begun his tenure, but he’s already “under pressure” to break the club’s 37-year premiership drought.
That is according to The Daily Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie, who believes Parramatta’s premiership window is closing with an “ageing” roster.
To deliver the success Parramatta powerbrokers are desperate for, the current Storm assistant could have to make some “dramatic decisions” and let players depart.
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“I think Jason Ryles will feel the sins of the past, 37 years we have waited. That will not go away until they win a premiership,” Ritchie said on NRL360 on Wednesday night.
“He’s the 11th coach since John Monie in 1986. He is under more pressure than anybody, as are the three that appointed him because they overlooked Josh Hannay.
“The main issue I have with Parramatta at the moment is the window, is it closing? It’s an ageing roster.
“Mitchell Moses, Clint Gutherson, Junior Paulo, Maika Sivo, Shaun Lane, Bryce Cartwright, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, all 29 or 30-years-old so the window has 12, 18 or 24 months left.
“He will have to make some dramatic decisions in the next year or year-and-a-half. Moses will stay.
“Sivo will go, Cartwright will be fighting for his spot, Ryan Matterson will be fighting for his spot, Shaun Lane.
“There’s a lot of players there who aren’t guaranteed to be re-signed.”
Ryles was announced as the Eels’ head coach on Monday, replacing Brad Arthur who was sacked after a horror start to the season.
As it stands, under interim coach Trent Barrett Parramatta haven’t improved and have slumped to 16th place on the NRL ladder.
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Fox League’s James Hooper believes Ryles has been handed a “poison chalice” and things could get worse before the rookie coach is able to turn the club’s fortunes around.
“The way the Eels are set up at the moment, I feel for Ryles,” Hooper said.
“I think he will be able to do a good job in time. But it’s a poison chalice at Parramatta at the moment, the staff are walking around on egg shells.
“Nobody’s job is guaranteed, there is going to have to be a roster shake-up. It’s an ageing list, I know RCG (Campbell-Gillard) was looking at going overseas earlier in the year.
“I don’t know that that’s still the same, but perhaps the club might try and go in that direction as that’s a significant amount of dough.”
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, skipper Clint Gutherson acknowledge there could be some movement in the playing ranks following Ryles’ arrival.
“That’s another thing for the new staff to come in and sort of make a decision on. There’s a lot of older boys that might get a tap on the shoulder, might not, it’s just the way it is,” he said.
“You have to deal with it.”
Meanwhile, rugby league legend Gorden Tallis questioned why the Eels’ pathways program hasn’t been able to nurture talent through to first grade.
This season young guns Blaize Talagi, Ethan Sanders and Charlie Guymer have all made their debuts after working their way through the junior system.
However, Hooper explained he believes the club’s powerbrokers don’t have the knowledge to nurture a successful club and use and keep the talent coming through the ranks.
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“They haven’t been able to able to get that streamlined and flowing through into the NRLfor decades, it hasn’t worked,” he said.
“With the exception of Blaize Talagi, the other best young kid they’ve got, Ethan Sanders, has signed with the Raiders.
“They are not set up like Penrith. The Panthers have got the procession line humming, Parramatta and the people who are the decision makers at the moment, which has been proven, have zero football IQ.”
Meanwhile, one of Ryles’ biggest tasks will be to convince rising star Talagi to remain at the club.
Gutherson selflessly revealed he will shift out of the fullback slot to retain the 19-year-old, who reportedly sees himself as a long term No.1.
However, Hooper explained re-signing the prodigious talent could come down to his manager.
“The most interesting thing about this Blaize Talagi story, is it’s an Isaac Moses-athon. One of the most senior figures in the game likes to say Moses looks at NRL clubs like McDonalds franchises,” Hooper said.
“So he gets a head coach in at various clubs and then the McDonalds franchise is open for business.
“He has Kristian Woolf at the Dolphins, so he’s got McDonalds Redcliffe. He’s got Adam O’Brien at Newcastle so he’s got McDonalds Merewether.
“And he’s got Shane Flanagan at McDonalds Wollongong. What do you know about Blaize Talagi, all the clubs who are interested are coaches managed by Isaac Moses.”