NRL news: How rugby league’s most powerful men sealed Jason Ryles’ coaching future

Nick Politis, Craig Bellamy, Matt Tripp, Phil Gould. A who’s who of rugby league’s most influential people were key players in Jason Ryles’ decision to knock back the Dragons.

Nick Politis, Craig Bellamy, Matt Tripp and Phil Gould all played roles in Jason Ryles' decision.

About three weeks ago, Melbourne chair Matt Tripp picked up the phone and called his Sydney Roosters counterpart Nick Politis to assure him the Storm weren’t pursuing Roosters assistant Jason Ryles.

Melbourne were watching from afar, but they weren’t ready to make a move for Ryles while he remained an assistant at the Roosters.

St George Illawarra, meanwhile, seemingly had a clear run at their preferred head coach and they were closing in on his signature.

That all changed last week when Ryles was cut loose by the Roosters. Suddenly and unexpectedly, he was fair game.

Tripp once again picked up the phone to Politis. This time, he said, all bets were off.

“I said to Nick once he is out of there, it is fair game,” Tripp said.

Tripp quickly escalated Melbourne’s interest in Ryles, a former assistant who had long been earmarked as a potential successor to Craig Bellamy.

Nick Politis, Craig Bellamy, Matt Tripp and Phil Gould all played roles in Jason Ryles' decision.

The assumption was that when Bellamy decided to continue coaching next season, Ryles would seek a head coaching position elsewhere. For a long time, that looked like the case. The Dragons had bent over backwards to make a deal work for Ryles.

They offered the security of a four-year deal that would pay him in excess of $3 million. They consulted him about beefing up their football department. They were ready to give him the keys to the club but there was a nagging feeling in the back of Ryles’ mind.

He harboured doubts and they only grew when Tripp asked for some time to put together an offer, which was tabled last Friday. It was light on detail – Ryles still doesn’t know exactly what his job will be in Melbourne – but it gave the Storm a sliver of hope.

The Dragons were pressing for an answer and Ryles spent the weekend mulling through his decision, having spoken to Bellamy and Storm head of football Frank Ponissi.

As late as Monday night, the Dragons still thought Ryles was their man. The deal was in good shape according to a Dragons official with knowledge of the negotiations.

Jason Ryles has rejected the Dragons. Picture: AAP

Things changed on Tuesday when Ryles spoke to a senior Dragons official and cast doubt on whether he was the man to preside over a major rebuild at St George Illawarra. By the morning he had made his mind up.

Even the security of a four-year deal wasn’t enough to guarantee success. Signing players, for example, would be an issue given there were few marquee players on the market, the dramatic increase in the salary cap meaning most clubs had tied their stars to long-term deals.

The Dragons’ fan base also expected immediate results and it gave Ryles cause to rethink. It wasn’t the first sign that the Dragons were losing the fight.

Canterbury head of football Phil Gould had earlier suggested that Ryles was unlikely to join the Dragons. Gould knew more than he let on – it emerged on Wednesday that Ryles had consulted Gould over his decision.

The dreaded phone call confirming as much arrived on Wednesday morning when Ryles called St George Illawarra chair Andrew Lancaster and chief executive Ryan Webb to inform them that he was taking up an offer from the Storm.

The Dragons are reeling after losing out on Jason Ryles. Picture: Getty

Earlier that morning, Lancaster and Webb had spoken optimistically about their pursuit of Ryles. Now, they were back to square one, weighing up their options as they search for a coach capable of dragging them out of their current quagmire.

The Dragons were still absorbing the blow late on Wednesday but there were words of encouragement from Tripp amid claims that St George Illawarra were a club in crisis.

“I don’t think it is a blight on St George,” Tripp said.

“Once we knew he wasn’t at the Roosters, that is when we came in. I had in my head that he was going to go to St George and take on a head coaching job.

“Next thing I am on the phone and we moved really quickly. I think it was all very quick for him too. It is a big leap of faith he is showing but at the same time I hope we can prove to him that he has made the right decision.”

Time will tell. Meanwhile, the Dragons must start again.

Jason Ryles has rejected the Dragons for the Storm. Picture: AAP

Comment: Dragons hit rock bottom in horror day

—Brent Read

What’s that old saying? Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can appreciate the top.

Surely this is it for St George Illawarra. Surely it can’t get any more dire.

The Dragons had been locked in discussions with Jason Ryles for weeks and were convinced they were on the verge of signing him to a long-term deal as late as Monday, when he held another round of talks with the club.

On Tuesday night, a further conversation was held and Dragons officials got a sense that Ryles was having second thoughts.

They went to bed that night concerned Ryles was beginning to become worried about what he perceived to be the enormity of the task at the club.

The Storm were also lingering in the background, having weighed in with an offer to return as an assistant with no guarantee of a head coaching role.

On Wednesday morning, the Dragons got the call they were dreading as Ryles confirmed he would be returning to the Storm.

St George Illawarra have lurched from one crisis to the next this season but surely this is the nadir.

The Dragons have officially hit rock bottom. Picture: Getty

They reside at the bottom of the ladder and if the rumour mill is correct, have an unsettled captain and a nervous squad.

They are making do with an interim coach and they are now back to square one in their search for a replacement for Anthony Griffin.

Ryles would have solved many of their problems. He was a natural fit for the Dragons having played for the club and grown up in the area.

His family home was only a couple of kilometres from the site of their new Centre of Excellence.

He had served the ultimate apprenticeship, spending time under a trio of super coaches – Craig Bellamy, Trent Robinson and Eddie Jones. He was ready to become a head coach. Or so it seemed.

But rather than take charge of the Dragons, Ryles has opted to pledge his future to the Storm with no commitment around the future of their head coach, Craig Bellamy.

These are dark days in Wollongong. The Dragons are in a hole and officials are frantically doing their best to find a way out of it. The good news is that surely it can’t get any worse.

Originally published as NRL news: How rugby league’s most powerful men sealed Jason Ryles’ coaching future