At a meeting at Sydney’s Star Casino 16 months ago, Melbourne chairman Matt Tripp convinced Jason Ryles he would be better off turning down the head coach’s job at St George Illawarra in favour of becoming the heir apparent to Craig Bellamy at the Storm.
“I got there and within a fortnight, I was like, ‘Wow, Craig’s not retiring’,” Ryles admits inside the Chinese restaurant at Parramatta Leagues Club earlier this week.
Watching Shane Flanagan rebuild the club he once represented with distinction only added to a nagging sense of what could have been had he chosen differently in that sliding doors moment.