Offered the chance on Thursday to spruik the claims of Moses, who made a welcome return from injury in Parramatta’s 38-22 win against Wests Tigers on Easter Monday, Ryles took a diplomatic stance.
Asked if Cleary and Moses could play together, the NRL’s newest coach replied: “I’m not sure if they can, or I’m not even really going to comment on whether they can, but it’s a good headache for the coach to have two players of that quality either fighting it out for that spot or potentially playing together.
“As a New South Welshman, I think it’s great … Mitchell, for me, in Origin, his game management, his kicking game is perfectly suited to it, but there’s another bloke, Nathan Cleary, who’s the same.
“So yeah, it’s a good headache for Laurie to have.”
Daley recently said on NRL360 that he thought Moses has “the ability to play five-eighth in Origin as well”, although he would need to weigh that up alongside Jarome Luai, who has helped NSW win two of the four series in which he has appeared, as well as playing next to Cleary in four grand final triumphs with Penrith.
Ryles admitted Moses’ return had provided the Eels with a massive boost, after he missed their first six games with a foot injury.
Eels coach Jason Ryles.Credit: Getty Images
“It’s really good for our confidence and our leadership, to be honest with you,” Ryles said.
If the Eels are without Moses during the Origin period, Ryles was confident back-ups Dean Hawkins and Ronald Volkman would be better for the experience they gained while Moses was sidelined earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, with the Eels resting during last weekend’s bye, Ryles was an interested observer as 18 players across the competition were sin-binned during a crackdown on high tackles.
Loading
The rookie coach felt there was no need to address the subject with his players before their Magic Round clash with Cronulla on Friday night.
“It’s just something that we always work on from day one of pre-season, our tackle height and just knowing where the game is and where it’s going,” he said.
“It’s not going away, so how hard they crack down is going to be subjective most weeks.
“But for us, it’s really important that we get our tackle height below the shoulders, which is what the rules are.”
Ryles was hopeful star off-season recruit Zac Lomax would return from a fractured foot in “the next two or three weeks”, a timeline that should have him in the mix for Origin I.
Dragons, Rabbitohs change halves combinations for Magic Round
Promising playmaker Lyhkan King-Togia has replaced axed halfback Lachlan Ilias, and it’s not the only change to the St George Illawarra line-up for this weekend.
Despite scoring a slashing try in the Anzac Day loss to the Roosters, Dragons winger Sione Finau is another casualty for Saturday’s Magic Round clash with Wests Tigers. Corey Allan, who made one State of Origin appearance for the Maroons in 2020, will make his Dragons debut after overcoming an ACL injury that wiped out his 2024 season.
King-Togia has made four NRL appearances and recently signed a contract extension that will result in him progressing to the club’s top-30 squads for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
Once the decision was made to drop Ilias, coach Shane Flanagan pondered whether to promote King-Togia or his NSW Cup halves partner, Jonah Glover. King-Togia won the race to partner Kyle Flanagan in the halves.
There’s been a shake-up in the South Sydney halves as well, with Jack Wighton to partner Bud Sullivan. English No.7 Lewis Dodd has been overlooked, limiting him to just 20 minutes of NRL game time since making his transfer from the Super League. Latrell Mitchell is unavailable due to suspension, with Jye Gray returning to the No.1 jersey.
Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett has made other changes, including shifting Euan Aitken from the back row to centre. Also, Tallis Duncan will start, and Lachlan Hubner (concussion) returns to a bench that includes new faces Fletcher Myers and Liam Le Blanc.
Lyhkan King-Togia has been called up to the NRL.
Josh Schuster is edging closer to making his Rabbitohs debut, but won’t be called up for the clash against the Knights.
Gold Coast coach Des Hasler has lost patience with David Fifita, dropping him to the reserves list for Sunday’s clash with Canterbury. Fifita, who was last year involved in a tug-of-war between the Titans and Roosters, now finds himself unable to crack the starting 17 in a blow to his bid for a Maroons jersey.
The Bulldogs, ravaged by a series of suspensions, have had to make changes of their own. Banned trio Josh Curran, Matt Burton and Sitili Tupouniua have been replaced, with Bailey Hayward named at five-eighth, Daniel Suluka-Fifita at prop and Kurtis Morrin and Blake Taaffe joining the interchange.
Cronulla welcomes back Kayal Iro and Braden Hamlin-Uele for Friday’s clash with Parramatta, while Newcastle forwards Jacob Saifiti and Adam Elliott have been named to return from calf injuries.
#yogilalitbisht #backpain