League legend Cooper Cronk believes fans have to “tip your cap” to Eels coach Jason Ryles after he made yet another brutal salary cap call to release winger Zac Lomax.
Lomax’s immediate exit from the Parramatta club was confirmed on Sunday, joining a huge cohort of players that have been shown the door since the rookie coach arrived at the club.
The likes of Clint Gutherson and Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Ryles copped heavy criticism for those calls, despite clearing up a large portion of salary cap space.
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Now with Lomax leaving, the Dragons recruit is another elite star Ryles won’t have at his disposal in the club’s bid for a finals berth in 2026.
However, Cronk believes Ryles has been vindicated in the past — and he will be once again after his latest decision.
“You’ve got to tip your cap to Jason Ryles,” Cronk said on the Kayo Sports NRL Podcast.
“Rookie coach last year, arrived at Parramatta Eels, and when you’re making decisions based on your own career you’re probably going to keep some players and say ‘I need to win games’.
“He got rid of Clint Gutherson and RCG, got smashed by Melbourne first round… didn’t win a couple for a while, brought in some other players.
“This is another call from Jason Ryles, he’s like ‘well Zac, if you’re not buying in to what we’re doing, cya later’.
“Because Ryles has made some really strong decisions that you could argue has put Parramatta a couple of steps back, but are definitely going in the right direction.
“He’s happy to let Zac move on and re-shape their roster.”
Legendary prop Steve Roach echoed Cronk’s — and he also highlighted a player he believes would slot straight into the Parramatta forward pack as a marquee recruit.
“I reckon Jason Ryles has shown a lot of maturity here, you would still say that he’s a rookie coach, to buy a player to come to Parramatta,” Roach said.
“All of a sudden he is one of your best and to have the maturity to say ‘we are going to let you go’… I think it opens the door for big Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
“He’s the type of player that can play 50 minutes every week, play the first 20 or 30, have a rest and come on and finish games.
“I think he’s a presence, sometimes he is a little erratic, but I don’t think Parramatta will try and replace Lomax with an outside back.
“They probably lacked a bit of size, when you think about it, if you’re going through to the finals you’re playing 27, 28 games.
“You get worn out if you don’t have size, so I think big Nelson would be perfect for them. I think he’s the type of bloke people will follow.
“I think he’d really be a good fit for Parramatta.”
However, Cronk wasn’t sure a big body was the right fit for the Eels.
“Nelson’s one of the names he’s going after, Koloamatangi… I think one of the things Parramatta needed to fix… they needed some mobile leg speed middle forwards,” Cronk said.
“Junior Paulo had a really good year, dropped some weight, got fit. Dylan Walker was a point of difference when he came across from the Warriors.
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“Nelson is a big body… but I think there needs to be a good balance in their forward pack. I like Mitchell Moses, you build a team around him.
“I think they just need some physicality and leg speed to compliment whatever you’ve got there in the middle of the field.”
Meanwhile, another big decision Ryles made was to sign young gun halfback Jonah Pezet to a one-year deal before he joins the Broncos on a long-term contract.
That decision was also met with confusion and criticism, with Roach and Cronk being split on the signing.
“It’s a bit of a quick fix for them, coming in for a year… I don’t get it,” Roach said, to which Cronk replied: “I like it. I like it… through the Broncos lens, through Jonah’s lense, through Parramatta’s lense.
“Maybe Ryles has a trick up his sleeve after Jonah Pezet. There’s one thing I think that combination can bring, I think Moses and Pezet work well.
“Pezet is your five-eighth and through his development will learn a lot off Mitch.
“I think Mitch needs a point of difference, because at the moment wherever the ball goes, Mitch goes and he can be shut down.
“He’ll call the ball on the other side of the ruck… the thing that’s the missing piece is now the Brisbane Broncos have lost a couple of young halves now that Pezet has plugged in there.
“I like it, I like this deal.”
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