Jason Ryles (born 17 January 1979) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League and former rugby league footballer.
He played mostly at prop for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Sydney Roosters, and Melbourne Storm in the NRL, Catalans Dragons in the Super League, and for New South Wales and Australia at representative level.
He has also coached rugby union as an assistant with both England and Australia.
In 2000, Ryles made his National Rugby League debut, playing for the St. George Illawarra Dragons. At the end of the 2001 NRL season, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour. In June, 2008, St. George Illawarra announced Ryles had signed with French Super League club, Catalans Dragons for two years commencing in 2009.[3][4]
Ryles returned to the NRL in 2010 with the Sydney Roosters and was part of the team that made the Grand Final that season.[5] However, after a disappointing 2011 season for the Sydney Roosters, his contract was terminated one year before its expiry.[6] He subsequently signed with the Melbourne Storm for the 2012 season. Melbourne, who were the minor premiers in 2011, cited Ryles' experience as a major factor in his signing.[7] He played in the Melbourne Storm's 2013 World Club Challenge win over Leeds.
Ryles had played fifteen Tests for Australia and represented the New South Wales Blues on eight occasions.
Ryles began his coaching career in 2012 with NSW State of Origin under 20s side as their assistant coach, which also carried over to 2013. Both years were successful in defeating Queensland's under 20s team. After his retirement as a player in the National Rugby League Ryles accepted a head coaching role for Western Suburbs Red Devils for the 2014/2015 seasons.[citation needed]
At the end of 2015, Ryles was approached by the Melbourne Storm to join their staffing team as assistant coach where he held this position until autumn 2020. While at Melbourne from 2016–2020, Ryles has also periodically assisted in coaching England's national rugby union team.[citation needed]
In 2016 and 2017, Ryles was appointed assistant coach for the Junior Kangaroos.[citation needed]
In autumn 2020, Ryles joined England as skills coach on a full-time basis.[8] However he missed the 2021 Six Nations Championship due to travel restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] He left the role in May 2021.[10]
In 2022, he joined the Sydney Roosters as an assistant coach. In 2023, he joined the coaching staff of the Australia national rugby union team for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. In 2024, he returned to the Melbourne Storm and was appointed the Coaching Coordinator there. On 8 July 2024, the Parramatta Eels announced he was appointed as the head coach on a four-year deal starting in 2025.[11] Ryles tenure as Parramatta's new head coach got off to a disastrous start with the side losing 56-18 against Melbourne in round 1 of the 2025 NRL season.[12] After suffering four losses in a row to start the season, Ryles earned his first win as Parramatta head coach in round 5 against St. George Illawarra.[13]
| Year | Team | Games | Tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 |  St. George Illawarra Dragons
|
7 | ||
| 2001 | 27 | 3 | 12 | |
| 2002 | 20 | 4 | 16 | |
| 2003 | 9 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2004 | 14 | |||
| 2005 | 21 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2006 | 18 | |||
| 2007 | 17 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2008 | 23 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2009 |  Catalans
|
22 | 2 | 8 |
| 2010 |  Sydney Roosters
|
26 | ||
| 2011 | 20 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2012 |  Melbourne Storm
|
22 | 1 | 4 |
| 2013 | 24 | |||
| Totals | 271 | 18 | 72 |
Source:[14]
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