Eels coach Ryles relaxed about Dylan Brown’s contract situation

New Parramatta coach Jason Ryles says it is his job to create an environment that convinces five-eighth Dylan Brown to stay beyond the end of this season.

Ryles celebrated his first win since taking charge of the Eels when they outgunned the Knights 44-18 in Newcastle in their opening Pre-Season Challenge hit-out on Friday.

The star of the show was New Zealand Test playmaker Brown, who drew first blood with a dummy and a dart from a scrum win 10 metres out, and later threw the final pass for a try to Eels fullback Joash Papalii to cap an impressive first half.

Brown has a long-term contract with the Eels, but it includes a get-out clause that he can potentially activate by round 10, allowing him to join a rival club next season. He has reportedly visited Newcastle for negotiations with the Knights, amid speculation they are willing to offer him $6 million for the next five seasons.

Ryles seems relaxed about the situation.

“He’s the same as any other player,” Ryles said. “What he ends up doing is up to him. My job is to create an environment for him that he doesn’t want to leave, and then we’ll work it out from there.”

Asked if he was hopeful that Brown’s negotiations would soon be resolved, Ryles replied: “I’ve got no idea. I know that by round 10 he’s going to make his decision.”

Ryles admitted he suffered a few pre-match butterflies before jumping into the hot seat for his first ride on the NRL rollercoaster.

“Before I got to the ground, I was really nervous, like when I played,” he said. “But when I got here it was fine, absolutely fine.

“Once I got around the players, it was good. It was just all part of the experience.”

Parramatta’s Dylan Brown on the attack against Newcastle.Credit: Getty Images

He described Parramatta’s performance as “a good confidence booster for the group”, but did not even keep track of the scoreline.

“My focus is on how we play, and how individuals handle the step up … it was all about how we did things today, not so much the result,” he said.

“The result is always good, because every time we put the badge on we want to win, but it was like winning was a byproduct today.”

In contrast to Ryles, Knights coach Adam O’Brien declined a request for a post-match interview. It is probably safe to assume he wasn’t happy with what he witnessed after his troops conceded eight tries, four in each half.

Both teams were well below full strength, with Mitchell Moses, Zac Lomax, Josh Addo-Carr, Kalyn Ponga and Bradman Best among the big-name absentees.

Parramatta’s young tyros certainly made the most of their opportunity. One of the highlights was the performance of playmaker Ronald Volkman, who returned to the NRL after injury and a much-publicised contractual impasse involving the Warriors and Dragons.

Volkman, who shapes as a handy back-up to Mitchell Moses and Brown, set up a first-half try for back-rower Kelma Tuilagi with a well-timed pass.

The Knights blooded former Super Rugby forward Tyrone Thompson, who is the identical twin brother of New Zealand Test prop Leo Thompson.

Parramatta five-eighth Dylan Brown has enhanced his bargaining position with a starring role in Friday night’s 44-18 pre-season win against Newcastle – the club reportedly most interested in enticing him to jump ship.

Brown has a long-term contract with the Eels but it includes a get-out clause that he can activate by round 10 this year, which could potentially allow him to join a rival team next season.

Eels five-eighth Dylan Brown.Credit: Getty Images

He reportedly visited Newcastle recently to hear the Knights’ sales pitch, amid speculation they are willing to offer him a $6 million contract over five seasons.

It took just three minutes of Parramatta’s opening trial under new coach Jason Ryles for Brown to underline his value.

Fielding the ball from a scrum win 10 metres out, the Kiwi international playmaker stepped and darted through some surprisingly flimsy defence to post first points.

He emerged with a cheeky smile that suggested he could hardly believe how easy it was.
He finished the half by producing a try assist for fullback Joash Papalii with a silky short ball.
In between Brown’s touches of class, the Eels scored another two first-half tries to lead 22-4 at the break.

The Knights pegged it back to 22-12 with tries by young outside backs Logan Aoake and Kyle McCarthy.

Then Tyson Gamble kicked a 40-40 and another fledgling, NSW under-19 centre Jermaine McEwen, crashed over to score, leaving Newcastle facing a 22-18 deficit with 22 minutes to play.
But three minutes later, Jordan Samrani scored to extend Parramatta’s lead to 28-18, and in quick succession Arthur Miller-Stephen (twice) and Samuel Loizou had added their names to the scoresheet.

Jake Tago scores for the Eels.Credit: NRL Photos

One of the highlights for Parramatta was the performance of playmaker Ronald Volkman, who returned to the NRL after a much-publicised contractual impasse involving the Warriors and Dragons.

Volkman set up a first-half try for back-rower Kelma Tuilagi with a well-timed face ball.
Both teams were well below full strength.

The Knights blooded former Super Rugby forward Tyrone Thompson, who is the identical twin brother of New Zealand Test prop Leo Thompson.

While it was the ideal start for Ryles, it’s hard to imagine his Newcastle counterpart, Adam O’Brien, was overly impressed with what he saw in his team’s first hit-out of 2025.

Conceding 44 points is not the start any team wants to any season.

Another left-side raid, another try for Parramatta, with Arthur Miller-Stephen strolling across untouched for his second of the evening. The Eels are well in the mix for the prizemoney up for grabs in the NRL’s Pre-Season Challenge, and have a terrific goal-kicker waiting in the wings in Josh Lynn who slots another one from the sideline.

Eels 44, Knights 18 after 79 minutes

A nice, flat pass from Te Hurinui Twidle to winger Samuel Loizou close to the line gives Parramatta their seventh try of the night, and Joshua Lynn’s curving sideline conversion attempt doesn’t quite drift in enough to go over.

If you don’t recognise those names you’re not alone, with the Eels putting the cue in the rack with a lot of youngsters getting their chance late in the contest – but still doing a good job against a Newcastle side that has been disappointing at home.

The good news is there don’t appear to have been any significant injuries in this contest, which is the top priority for a lot of coaches at this time of the year.

Eels 38, Knights 18 after 75 minutes

The Eels won’t be caught from here. Winger Arthur Miller-Stephen gets the ball on the left after some classy passing from Araz Nanva and Joey Lussick, and bursts down the touchline to score. Joshua Lynn slots the sideline conversion, his second goal of the night.

Eels 34, Knights 18 after 70 minutes

Parramatta go in again after a couple of little blunders from the Knights’ halves – a Tyson Gamble kick going dead, then Fletcher Sharpe leaving too big a gap in the defensive line – with Jordan Samrani slicing through to score.

Eels 28, Knights 18 after 64 minutes

A terrific 40-20 kick from Tyson Gamble puts Newcastle within striking distance and Gamble pops up again with the last pass for Jermaine McEwen to swandive over for another Newcastle try. Finally they get a conversion too, and the deficit is reduced to four.

Eels 22, Knights 18 after 60 minutes