The Roosters are seeking a six figure compensation should assistant Jason Ryles cut short his deal to sign a reported five-year deal to be the Dragons’ next head coach.
Ryles is caught in a three-way battle for his services with the Roosters, Storm and Dragons, but with Craig Bellamy tipped to coach on, St George Illawarra now appear favourites, but it will come at a cost.
“Big news today Jason Ryles has met with the Dragons, only a couple of days ago we didn’t think it was possible,” Braith Anasta said on NRL 360.
Watch every game of every round of the 2023 NRL Telstra Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
FOX LEAGUE PODCAST – INSIDE MAGIC ROUND
Eight games over three days in the one location — What does Magic Round look like from the media’s perspective? Stories from the winning and losing sheds, the other side of Wayne Bennett no one sees, a fuming Craig Bellamy and the NRL’s new cult figure. Listen here >
‘They don’t know too much about footy’ | 01:28
“We didn’t think it would happen the move of Ryles moving from the Roosters to the Dragons a year early.”
Paul Kent explained the Dragons have gone from no chance of signing Ryles as their head coach to being the favourites to snare his signature.
“It is a moving story,” Kent said.
“A week ago Ryles was in no position to leave the Roosters. St George Illawarra weren’t really talking about him.
“Ben Hornby was the guy they were talking about that was in front to take over from Anthony Griffin.
“There has been a meeting on Monday and as serious as it is, it is quite amusing some of the spins that have come out of it, but there are certainly things happening right now.
“The Dragons have gone from Ryles being no chance to him clearly now being a strong chance.”
MORE NRL NEWS
ORIGIN SCOUT: Legend axes QLD veteran amid recall for ‘non-negotiable’
EARLY MAIL: Kevvie backs Farnworth to overcome illness amid Broncos’ flu scare
‘WE HELPED HIM’: Broncos coach Walters addresses reported rift with Ikin
POWER RANKINGS: Shock surge has NRL on notice as Storm slide exposes problem
The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis, who broke the story revealed the Roosters were told Ryles was only meeting with the Dragons at the request of friend and board member Ben Creagh.
“There is lots of stories spinning in and around this,” Carayannis said.
“If you speak to the Roosters they were told that Jason Ryles was invited by good friend Ben Creagh who is a board member at the Dragons, to give them some help in terms of what they need to do to go forward.
“That is apparently what the Roosters have been told.”
“And the Roosters are so silly that of course they believed that,” Kent said facetiously.
“That’s the way it works in rugby league.”
Caryannis pointed out that Monday’s meeting between the Dragons and Ryles was not a formal interview.
“That meeting on Monday was informal,” Carayannis said.
Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!
“It wasn’t a formal interview or anything like that.”
But Kent believes the meeting was designed to gauge Ryles’ interest in coaching the team.
“Clearly they were gauging Ryles’ understanding and desire of what he thinks needs to be done,” Kent said.
“And what the Dragons would look like if he took the job,” Carayannis added.
“The difference between the other two candidates in Ben Hornby and Dean Young is they are known commodities at the club.
“Everyone knows and is aware of their strengths and their weaknesses and what they bring.
“While Jason Ryles played at the Dragons he hasn’t been there for 20 years, so the current board haven’t had a lot to do with him. The management have had nothing to do with him.
“So to get him in there was to get a gauge of exactly what that may be.
“If Jason Ryles ends up coaching at the Dragons, the Roosters are going to be filthy.”
James Hooper revealed Roosters coach Trent Robinson sought Ryles out for answers amid reports the club wants a six-figure pay out to let their assistant go to the rival club.
“The Roosters are ruthless the way they do business,” Hooper said.
“When they signed Jason Ryles it was a three-year deal. He is 18 months into that arrangement. He has still got the end of this season and all of next year.
“They went through this with Adam O’Brien and the Roosters want six figures as a compensation severance style of a sum.
“I have also heard that Trent Robinson has told Jason Ryles directly, we need some straight answers here because at the moment some of the wishy washy narratives and the spin it doesn’t exactly make sense.”
Carayannis explained the Roosters want compensation for any club that takes a contracted staff member away from their club.
“He has another 12 months left on that deal and the compensation won’t just be for the Dragons,” Carayannis said.
“If miraculously Craig Bellamy decides to quit at the end of the year and Jason Ryles ends up at Melbourne, which none of us think is going to happen.
“Every indication is that Bellamy will coach next year, but if Ryles joins the Storm or the Dragons this year, the Roosters will be asking for some cash.”
Kent explained that part of Bellamy’s desire to coach on in Melbourne was to give the club time to sign Ryles for 2025 when his current Roosters deal ends.
“Part of the suspicion about Bellamy coaching on next season was that he would do that one more year in order for Jason Ryles to complete his contract with the Roosters and then enable him to move to Melbourne,” Kent said.
“That is part of what people believed why Bellamy was staying on.
“But that buys into Saints saying, hang on we need to move quickly because if that is what he is looking at doing and he does wait until the end of his three-year deal we can’t wait and have it as a coin toss between us and Melbourne because we know where he will go. Clearly he is going to go back to Melbourne.”
Hooper revealed the Dragons have targeted Shane Richardson and Nathan Brown to help Ryles rebuild the club.
“I think the big shift over the course of the last 48 hours is that the Dragons have clearly sharpened their pencil and decided, OK how are we going to get this deal done?” Hooper said.
“So we are hearing that Craig Bellamy is probably going to go around for another 12 months. Let’s go in and let’s talk big figures.
“Let’s make it possibly a five-year deal. The money he would be on now at the Roosters would be nowhere near what the Dragons would be able to afford to pay him if they go to a five-year contract as their head coach.
“They are also talking about Shane Richardson going in as a general manager of football style role. Nathan Brown the ex-player and coach going in to be the head of recruitment.
“When you start to put all those figures in place all of a sudden you can see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel for the Dragons.”
Hooper believes the Roosters feel misled over the Ryles blindside.
“I think the Roosters feel as though they might have been a little bit misled,” Hooper said.
“They were told as recently as a month ago, there was no way that Jason Ryles was going to be interested in the Dragons’ job whatsoever.
“The Dragons were saying that a month ago as well, so something has changed. There has been a circuit breaker.”
Anasta questioned if the Roosters would let Ryles leave immediately to join the Dragons.
“The Roosters want compensation, so will they let him go straight away?” Anasta asked.
“If they are compensated I’m sure they would,” Kent replied.
Carayannis believes the Roosters will part ways with Ryles as soon as he agrees to terms with a rival club.
“If he agrees to coach elsewhere, even if it is to replace Craig Bellamy after 12 months in Melbourne we know the way the Roosters do business,” Carayannis said.
“Even if it is for 2025, he won’t be there next year Jason Ryles.
“Even if Ryles does elect to stay at the Roosters for a further 12 months, but they know he is going to join the Storm the year after, the Roosters won’t put up with that.”
Hooper believes the Roosters are from a bygone era in that they like their employees to honour their word.
“I respect the Roosters for that because they are a little bit old school like that,” Hooper said.
“If you shake hands with Nick Politis or whoever it is at the club who is doing that deal and you give them your word that you are going to honour that contract, and then it changes, I would have an issue with that.”
Hooper revealed a Dragons board meeting on Tuesday will see club CEO Ryan Webb put his recommendations for the new dream team to the board.
“There is a board meeting next Tuesday, I think that is pivotal,” Hooper said.
“I think that is why the CEO is so busy behind the scenes. The Chairman Andrew Lancaster has been heavily involved.
“He has been all over these key meetings with Ryles, Richardson and Brown and all those types of figures.
“I think next Tuesday Webb will put to the board what he thinks the best chain of command for the club going forward and they make some decisions form there.”
