Eels coach Jason Ryles says the club is in a position to go after elite talent, with Jarome Luai heavily linked with a move to Parramatta after his current club the Wests Tigers confirmed that the playmaker has been released from the final year of his deal.<\/p>\n
Luai is now available for the 2027 season before he joins the PNG Chiefs the following year as the new franchise\u2019s marquee man. <\/p>\n
The Eels signed Jonah Pezet on a similar one-year deal this season before he heads to Brisbane in 2027, and Ryles has left the door wide open for something similar to happen with Luai.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will go back and talk to the people that I need to at the club, and we\u2019ll make a decision going forward,\u201d he said following the loss to the Roosters. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, tonight\u2019s about the game and not so much about recruitment. I\u2019ll address that if and when we need to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Eels are looking for the right player to partner Mitch Moses in the halves, with Luai combining well with him in the past when they\u2019ve teamed up for NSW.<\/p>\n
Ryles said \u201cI reckon it might\u201d when asked if the star duo would help their attack next year, with the Eels craving experience in a spine that is full of emerging talent.<\/p>\n
Moses, Isaiah Iongi and Tallyn Da Silva are all signed long term, while Ryley Smith is also locked in as the club looks to convert their potential into sustained success.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said the other day, when elite players become available, we are always interested, and we are in a position to execute on stuff,\u201d Ryles said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo whether it\u2019s this one, or the next one, or whoever it is, we\u2019ll work that out as we go. But we have a really clear strategy that we\u2019re working towards. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of young players there at the moment. Izzy\u2019s (Iongi) signed for five years, Mitchell\u2019s signed for five years, Tallyn\u2019s signed for four years, we extended Ryley, we\u2019ve extended a number of players, and we\u2019re looking to extend more. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a long-term view. Anyone who is an elite player that becomes available that we think is going to help us going forward into the future, we are very interested in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Young playmaker Lorenzo Talataina is widely regarded as a guy the club can build around, but he\u2019s still raw and needs more time in the lower grades to develop.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why Luai would be such a valuable addition to the club to help nurture that talent, with Ryles pointing to Iongi\u2019s development at Penrith where he was stuck in NSW Cup but got to learn off champion fullback Dylan Edwards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a fortune teller, I can\u2019t tell the future,\u201d the coach replied when asked if the young crop of halves would be ready to play NRL next year. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut you look at all the young halves in the competition, they\u2019re super talented, there\u2019s a lot coming through, and we\u2019re very lucky with a couple coming through as well. But they need reps, they need time. <\/p>\n
\u201cI use Izzy as the example. He played 60 Cup games behind one of the best systems in the whole competition and gave himself the best chance to be where he\u2019s at the moment. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut he\u2019s nowhere near where he\u2019s going to get to, and we\u2019re in year two. So it just takes time.\u201d<\/p>\n