St George Illawarra may soon have a new coach, with negotiations ramping up to bring Jason Ryles on board. While former players Dean Young and Ben Hornby are also potential candidates, Ryles is the club’s preferred choice to replace Anthony Griffin. Ryan Carr, currently serving as interim head coach, and assistant Ben Woolf are contracted for next year and expected to remain regardless of who takes over. Both the club and Ryles are keen to establish a long-term relationship, potentially lasting up to five years, although the specifics of the contract have yet to be agreed upon.
Before a deal can be reached, the Dragons board must convene and reach an agreement on the candidate and terms. While not all eight directors need to agree, the stakeholders from WIN and St George must come to an understanding for the appointment to be ratified.
The Roosters will not stand in Ryles’ way if he is offered a head coaching position and will likely seek a compensation fee in exchange for his release. However, Ryles is still under contract with the Roosters until the end of 2024.
Carr, who recently secured his first win as interim coach against the Roosters, has expressed interest in becoming a permanent NRL head coach. He is not ruling out the possibility of taking over the Dragons full-time but is currently staying focused on the upcoming game against the Dolphins.
Carr has installed Jack De Belin as captain in the absence of regular captain Ben Hunt, who is on State of Origin duty. De Belin was previously considered for the position two years ago, but concerns over public backlash led the Dragons to opt against the decision.
De Belin was stood down for two years under the NRL‘s no-fault rule as he faced sexual assault charges in December 2018, the same year he made his NSW debut. A jury failed to reach a verdict in his first trial, and a second trial found him not guilty of one charge of sexual assault and was unable to reach a verdict on five others. Although de Belin was in the mix for a return to the Origin team, the Blues chose another forward pack. Carr believes de Belin’s leadership and experience will be beneficial for the relatively young Dragons team.