It’s safe to say the growth of Ryley Smith is in good hands at the Parramatta Eels. The energetic 22-year-old sat down at the James Hardie Centre of Excellence to reflect on the last two years of his football journey.
“It’s been unreal and I think the journey is only just starting, which is a really cool thing. I think there’s a lot of boys that are at different parts of their career and I’m only at the start of mine.”
“It’s really exciting because I feel like I’ve done a lot and I haven’t really done much.”
Smith’s journey is unique and a testament to his hard work. Smith spent a large part of 2024 in Jersey Flegg. He joined the NRL side on a train and trial deal before the 2025 pre-season.
Smith’s momentum at the Blue and Gold accelerated into a development deal. He was upgraded to the top 30 squad in 2025 and even an extension through to the end of 2027.
When Smith reflected on the massive last two years, he was quick to credit Head Coach Jason Ryles and the Eels coaching staff.
“They put faith in me, which has been something that I feel I’ve needed for a few years.”
“Coming to Parra, I’ve felt that sot of sense of faith. I think even playing Flegg, like Jordan Rankin was massive for me, putting faith in me.
"I think I was captain for a few games and I had a big role in that team. So they’ve been amazing for me.”
“Ryles and the staff, they’ve helped me everyday. Browny, Wisey, they have different methods and you just got to listen to them because they’re always right.”
To give me the opportunity in round one and then sort of stick with me, knowing that I was going to make mistakes and then hoping I learned from them. I couldn’t thank them enough.
Ryley Smith
Smith admitted his role has changed coming into his second first grade season. With a lot of the younger squad players looking to him for advice through this pre-season.
“’I’ve still got to think that I’m young as well. But there’s a lot of young boys here at the moment , so I feel a little bit of a sense of responsibility. I was in their boots last year, so I’m bringing them along with me for their journey.”
But then at the same time, I’m sticking to my journey as well and bettering myself every day. If I focus on doing my right things on the field, then the boys will follow.”
“They’ve been coming and asking questions. Because I was sort of in their shoes 20-24 months ago. It’s been pretty cool to sort of reflect on that and be a leader in that sense.”
“It’s been really refreshing to know that the boys sort of look up to me a little bit and come to me with questions and that’s pretty cool to see how far I came.”
Smith paid a huge shoutout to the Blue and Gold army. The support enabled him to feel comfortable and play his best footy in 2025.
“They’ve been unbelievable, I can’t believe how big our fan base is. It’s crazy, even getting noticed in the shopping centre. There’s always just a Parra jersey around or a Parra fan that knows you.”
The fans have been so welcoming to me and it’s made my job so much easier. I can just go out there and worry about playing football and I’ve got their full support.
Ryley Smith
Smith and the squad continue to work hard during pre-season ahead of their round 1 clash against the Storm on Thursday 5th of March.
