I was a ratbag’: Jason Ryles’ rise from fiery forward to Parramatta coach
ByAdrian Proszenko
March 8, 2025
You can usually pick the footballers who will become coaches. Often you see them a mile away.
Maybe it’s because they are the on-field general, or a footy nerd, or because they have a passion for the game that won’t allow them to consider a career outside of it. Maybe it’s an intangible quality that can’t be identified. Whatever it is, they just have coach-in-waiting stamped all over them.
Think Ricky Stuart, Craig Bellamy, Craig Fitzgibbon.
And then there’s the other type. The ones you don’t see coming.
Jason Ryles belongs in the second category.
When he was carting up the ball, all fire and brimstone, nothing about Ryles screamed future coach.
In fact, when you ask him to reflect on it now, you get the impression the Ryles of 20 years ago probably wasn’t the sort of player the Ryles of today would want to coach.
“I was a ratbag,” Ryles says. “I knew I was. In saying that, I’ve grown up a lot. I’ve gone to different clubs, seen other ways of doing things and learnt from some pretty successful people along the way.
“I didn’t foresee this 20 years ago, that’s for sure.”
And yet, here he is, the new guy in charge at Parramatta, the third club that had identified him as the NRL’s “next great coach”. There were other candidates for the post, each impressive in their own way, but none had completed a more rounded apprenticeship. The blue and golds wanted someone with a growth mindset and a clear vision for the club’s future. The fact that he had attended the best finishing schools in league and rugby union meant all the boxes were ticked.
In short, the Ryles who got the nod as Brad Arthur’s successor was a very different man to the tearaway prop of days gone by.
So what happened?
“I reckon I was 26 or 27 and I just thought, ‘What am I doing?’” Ryles tells this masthead.
“I met Alana, who is now my wife, and everything just changed. Five years later we were married, then we had kids. That was the thing.
“It wasn’t a lightbulb [moment] or a catalyst, it was just things were starting to change and you grow up.
“You don’t think the same things are funny any more. Meeting my wife, about 17 to 18 years ago now, that was a big turning point in my life.”
There have been others.
Ryles first dipped his toe into the coaching caper at one of his junior clubs, Wollongong’s Western Suburbs Red Devils. With his great mate Mark “Piggy” Riddell as his lieutenant, Ryles led the Red Devils as captain-coach about a decade ago.
When you get to the end of your career, it’s like, ‘What are we going to do now?’” Ryles recalls.
At the same time, to help make ends meet, he was working as a sales representative at True Blue Chemicals, flogging cleaning products to distributors.
“I wasn’t good at it,” he admits. “That was a humbling experience because nobody cares how many games of footy you’ve played.
“The biggest thing I learnt about was relationships, getting to know people.
“It was very, very humbling, I had some days where I was, ‘Wow, I’m in the real world now’.”
Of the two gigs, coaching held more appeal. He was good at it, too.
Within two years, Ryles was invited back to former club Melbourne, to learn from master mentor Craig Bellamy. That led to a stint on the coaching staff of then-England rugby mentor Eddie Jones, then an assistant role under Trent Robinson at the Roosters, before again returning to the Storm.
Everywhere he went, Ryles left his mark. Which is why, when St George Illawarra sacked Anthony Griffin, the job was his if he wanted it. A return to the Red V, a stone’s throw away from where he lived, with the security of a four-year deal. If you’re an aspiring head coach, it doesn’t get any better than that.
And still, he knocked it back. While most rookies would jump at the first job they’re offered, Ryles realised it was the right place at the wrong time. Instead, he returned to Melbourne, earmarked as the man to replace Bellamy, only to find that waiting for Bellamy to retire is like waiting for Godot.
When a spot opened up at Parramatta, Ryles felt it was the right fit.
“Everything I learnt along the way in regards to the front office – whilst it’s not perfect and nowhere is – a lot of the infrastructure was in place to help me do my job every day, which is to coach the footy team,” he says.
“It was a lot to do with the timing and the way the club has been set up. I saw a good opportunity there.”
Change was needed at Parramatta. Change is hard.
The most obvious difference is in personnel after three stalwarts – Clint Gutherson, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Maika Sivo – were allowed to leave. All were contracted, all were beloved, but after narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon, a reset was required.
“It happened pretty naturally in regards to those guys,” Ryles says. “They needed to know what was in store for them in the future and I couldn’t give them a definitive answer. They then got some opportunities elsewhere that were pretty good for them personally, and I didn’t want to stand in their way.
“Those things happen along the way, and you just try to make the best decision for the club at the time. I thought that was the best way to go.”
However, the biggest change during Ryles’ first pre-season in charge has been cultural.
“I always talk about how the badge connects us all,” Ryles explains.
“It connects our families, it connects our fans, every past player, all our admin staff. It’s something we’re privileged to do. To do it at a club so steeped in history, it’s an honour to come to work, put the gear on and represent.”
Still, there was a disconnect between the current generation of players and the previous one. Nor was there a proper appreciation of the history of the club. Which is why Ryles issued all players and staff with a 69-page booklet detailing the club’s past.
When the squad was put through a boot camp, it was conducted across all seven Parramatta sites deemed of historical importance, from the town hall to the NSW lancer barracks.
‘I’ve grown up a lot ... I didn’t foresee this 20 years ago, that’s for sure.’
Jason Ryles
“I’ve seen it at the Storm and the Roosters, and they do it well,” he says. “I see it as a really important part, knowing where we come from.”
While keen to forge his own path, he borrowed another idea from Melbourne. The entire squad was sent into the workforce for a few days of their summer. It was a chance to spend time with the community they represent and remind them how lucky they are to play footy for a living.
“We’re not the first place to do it, but I thought it was appropriate for where we are at,” he says. “It was really successful for us because the players bought into it. They didn’t complain, they just got out and did it. I think it was very beneficial for them.”
Earlier this year, a select group of fans were invited to an Eels members forum at Parramatta Stadium.
For many it was the first time the faithful got to hear from the new coach. The first line he uttered after being handed the microphone is: “Obviously there’s going to be a fair bit of change, there has been so far.”
When a club insider is later asked what is different about a pre-season under Ryles, the answer is “everything”.
More focus on the fundamentals. Less work without the football. Add speed into the side and work out how best to use it.
“I don’t know everything, far from it,” Ryles says. “It’s the start of my journey. My belief is to get better at footy, you need to do it. As often as possible.”
The players appear to have bought in, albeit they are yet to be truly tested. That will happen on Sunday. Parramatta take on Ryles’ former team Melbourne, who haven’t lost an opening-round encounter in 22 years under Bellamy.
It is the first step of a journey he is taking his players on.
“I see it as being important to have a good, honest relationship with them,” he says.
“Sometimes you just need to check yourself that you’re not too matey with them, but you learn that along your journey.
“At the end of the day they look to you for guidance and direction. I find I’m pretty understanding of where they’re at, having played and been around footy for so long. I’ve got a pretty good feel for what they’re going through, I don’t know everything, but I just try to help them as much as I can.”
For proof that change for the better is possible, they need look no further than their coach.
When he was carting up the ball, all fire and brimstone during his playing days at the Dragons, nothing about Jason Ryles screamed future supercoach.
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