STORM BREWING FOR RYLES
Dragons gig passed up as Melbourne job beckons
Jason Ryles looms as the man most likely to be the next coach of the Melbourne Storm after knocking back an offer from St George Illawarra.
The surprising turn of events occurred on Wednesday morning.
The Dragons offered Ryles a four-year contract earlier this week.
Dragons boss Ryan Webb confirmed the news.
“Jason notified us this morning that he no longer wanted to be considered for the role,” Webb said. “It wasn’t the right time for him.
“We appreciate him being honest and rather find out now than in six months time that he didn’t feel comfortable.
“We will continue on our process with the other candidates and hopefully bring it to a head shortly.”
Ryles will sit out the rest of this year before returning to work under Bellamy at Melbourne next season.
It is understood he has agreed a long-term deal with an option to leave after two seasons if he is offered an opportunity elsewhere.
However, with Bellamy expected to slip into retirement before then, Ryles has now been officially ordained as the man to take over from the three-time premiership winner when he calls it quits.
Sources close to Ryles confirmed that he would have taken the St George Illawarra job had it been any club other than the Storm.
However, the chance to return to a club where he has longstanding contacts and work in a system he knows well was too good to refuse.
During the process of making the decision, Ryles sought counsel from an array of influential figures in his life, including Bulldogs GM of football Phil Gould.
With his own insight from his chat with Ryles, Gould went on the record last week that he didn’t believe the former front-rower would take the Dragons job.
However, Ryles was leaning towards taking over the Dragons on Monday, before making the ultimate call to reject the deal on Tuesday night. The long-term Storm offer was too good to pass up, compared to that of an uncertain rebuild of the Dragons.
The news of Ryles rejecting the Dragons offer also made its way into both State of Origin camps.
Dragons CEO Ryan Webb informed Queensland playmaker Ben Hunt that Ryles wouldn’t be the club’s next head coach.
Hunt’s reaction to where the club goes next will be pivotal to him staying at the Red V.