‘Nothing personal’: Ryles breaks silence on RCG, Gutho amid Eels’ 11-player exodus

New Eels coach Jason Ryles has broken his silence on the Parramatta squad amid the departure of 11 players including Reagan Campbell-Gillard and conjecture surrounding Clint Gutherson’s future.

Ryles has wasted no time in overhauling the roster that finished third last in 2024, with Campbell-Gillard leaving along with 10 other players.

“It’s exciting, obviously we’ve got some elite players in some of our key positions, which is exciting for me,” Ryles said in his first interview as Eels coach on Parraeels.com.au.

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“I’m going to be fortunate to work with those guys and I think I can help them with their footy as well as our coaches.

“We’ve got a real good mix there of experience and then also the youth as well, so there’s some guys there just beneath the surface that I think are ready to start their NRL journey and then also continue their journey as well.

“I’m really excited about where our roster’s at the moment. We’ve still got a little bit of work to do with filling some spots and that type of thing going forward.

“But it’s something that we’ll be really strategic on. But then also making sure that we have that connection with our pathways and just transitioning those guys into first grade, whether they come in this year or whether they come in over the next couple of years.

“It’s quite a broad scope, but I’m really excited about some of the players that we’ve got here.”

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The Eels will welcome Zac Lomax and Isaiah Iongi next season and Ryles is looking forward to what they will bring to the club and the star players he already has on his books.

“We’ve got a few spots to fill, but Isaiah and Zac are really exciting inclusions for us,” Ryles said.

“They’ll speed us up a little bit around the field. And then also Zac adds a little bit of that X-factor as well.

“I’m really excited to get to work with him and obviously Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown and those guys speak for themselves. It’s an exciting challenge and one I’m looking forward to.”

However, one former representative star that will not be at the Eels in 2025 is Campbell-Gillard and Ryles explained his reasons for letting him go, despite having a year to run on his contract.

“I think that was just an opportunity for both parties,” Ryles said.

“We came to an agreement there where it was best for both of us. I couldn’t guarantee what the squad was going to look like post-2025 and then he had an opportunity to extend his career right now.

“So I didn’t want to stand in his way to do that and at the end of the day, decisions need to be made and it’s just part of the game and what we sign up for.

“It’s nothing personal. I thought I’d want to do what was best for him going forward. Then also make a decision for our club for the future.”

Ryles is coming to the Eels on the back of stints with the Roosters and Storm, who both have settled halfbacks in Sam Walker and Jahrome Hughes.

So he knows how important it is to have a set No.7 and chief playmaker in Mitchell Moses.

“I’m excited to work with Moses, I was really pleased for Mitchell watching that Origin,” Ryles said.

“Obviously, I’m a New South Welshman and he dominated those two games and was a big part of the reason why New South Wales clinched the series.

“So it is very exciting, both as his future coach and then also as a supporter of the Blues and to see him personally perform the way he did on such a big stage. So again, it’s an exciting opportunity to work with him.”

There has been some conjecture over Eels skipper Clint Gutherson’s future at the club amid links to the Dragons.

Ryles gave a telling response when asked if Gutherson, who is off-contract at the end of 2025 and free to negotiate with rivals from November 1, is in his long-term plans.

“Yeah, immediately he’s, you know, a big part of the plans,” Ryles said.

“Obviously he’s one of the biggest effort players in the whole competition. I’ve been a bit of an admirer of his for a long time now.”

However, Ryles’ first focus is to get his coaching team settled on a plan for the pre-season so that the players are ready to go from day one when they return to training.

“Just to make sure that we get our pre-season right and we have started planning that,” Ryles said.

“We want to base our game on effort, on consistency and then also making sure we’re working really hard on our culture and our connection with each other.

“And then also our community, our fans and our members, so that’s a huge priority for me going forward. And that’s something that we’ve already started working on.”