'Go after the game', Ryles tells No.1 Iongi

Daftar Isi

Jason Ryles has told Parramatta's Isaiah Iongi to "go after the game", giving the young gun the freedom to play his part in a revamped Eels backline.

Iongi nailed his first full audition on Friday night, scoring a try and beating four blokes to kick another in the Eels' trial game against the Wests Tigers.

A long-time understudy to Dylan Edwards at Penrith, Iongi will be thrust into the limelight this year as the man tasked with replacing long-serving Eels fullback Clint Gutherson.

Fair dinkum, first-time coach Ryles reckons Iongi's good to go, and wants the 21-year-old to have a crack at taking on the game in attack in his first full season.

"One of Issy's strengths is that he turns up to the game, grabs the footy and has a crack, and we just want to keep encouraging him to keep doing that," Ryles said.

We're starting to see glimpses of what's to come, but we've got to be understanding and not rush him.

He's done a top-notch apprenticeship in the NSW Cup with around 60 games and he sat behind arguably the best fullback in the comp for a number of years.

He's had a top-notch start, but it's just a matter of getting the practice in the first grade now.

Ryles said Parramatta's attack had looked a bit disjointed on Friday night, with the absence of halves Dylan Brown and Mitch Moses.

Brown was in New Zealand for his brother's nuptials, whereas Moses is still battling foot soreness ahead of the season's commencement.

Parramatta's attacking structure is set for a major overhaul this year, following 11 years of Brad Arthur as coach and Gutherson as the team's fullback since 2017.

"It's a pretty different approach to how we're planning to attack, so we'll just keep working on that," Ryles said.

It all comes back to the strengths of our footy team. We've got pace, we've got a knowledgeable set of halves and we've got a young hooker.

"We'll keep evolving.

There's no set timeframe for our attack. It'll have its ups and downs, but it'll have days when it'll be 'absolute ripper', and days when it's not so good.