Eels cleanout continues with another star on the out, Hornby feels ‘punished’ for Murray mayhem

Fijian international Maika Sivo looks set to be the second big name shown the door at Parramatta as incoming coach Jason Ryles overhauls the roster.

Sivo is under contract for another three years but is free to leave after a drop in form this season as the Eels have slumped to the bottom of the ladder on the back of coach Brad Arthur being sacked two months ago.

The 30-year-old speedster is a fan favourite at Parra and is on the verge of a century of tries at the club after crossing the line 98 times in his 111 appearances since his debut in 2019.

Former Origin forward Ryan Matterson was the first star to be told he can look elsewhere in 2025 after Ryles was appointed coach last week for next season onwards on a four-year deal.

Ryles has been released early from his role as Storm assistant coach to begin planning for his entry into head coaching with caretaker Trent Barrett finishing off the rest of this season at the helm.

Sivo’s Eels deal is complicated. He is signed until the end of next year but then there is a mutual option for 2026 and a club option for the following season which the Eels are clearly cutting as part of their decision to tell him that he can sign elsewhere.

Ryles, who agreed to not poach any Melbourne players or off-field staff for at least 12 months as part of his early exit deal, is focusing on convincing teenage rising star Blaize Talagi to stick around.

Off contract at the end of this season after deciding not to exercise a clause in his contract, Talagi has been a revelation for the Eels in 2024 and is being groomed as the club’s long-term fullback with captain Clint Gutherson likely to switch to centre.

Other decisions loom on senior players.

Only two in Parramatta’s roster are locked in beyond the end of this season, in the form of Mitch Moses and Junior Paulo.

Others including five-eighth Dylan Brown have contracts for longer, but have options in their favour that they must decider whether to take up.

Still it means the vast majority of the Eels’ squad become free agents in November, meaning decisions must be made quickly.

Their top-heavy cap means Ryles may decide to release some of the club’s more experienced players if he is to allow for a greater balance in the roster.

Ryles must also decide the make up of his coaching staff for next season, with players keen for Barrett, his former St George Illawarra teammate, to stay on.

The Eels will be without star half Mitchell Moses for the rest of the season after he ruptured a biceps muscle late in the Blues’ Origin III win on Wednesday night which will hamper their chances of avoiding the wooden spoon.

Hornby takes his Origin medicine

South Sydney are confident they can continue their surge up the NRL ladder despite being “punished” for star forward Cam Murray’s State of Origin suspension.

Rabbitohs interim coach Ben Hornby had been looking forward to welcoming back the Blues lock against bottom club Wests Tigers in Gosford on Saturday. 

Instead he will be without Murray who was slapped with a two-game ban for running into a melee from the bench during Wednesday’s decider.

Hornby was reluctant to weigh in on the merit of the decision, but his disappointment was clear.

“It’s a tough one, isn’t it?” he said. 

“I mean, it spills over into their bench and he goes in to help his mate and it is what it is. We get punished for it, but we’ve got to move on.”

Murray’s misfortune opens the door for young lock Liam Le Blanc, who was elevated to the bench with Tallis Duncan set to start.

“It’s a great opportunity for Liam to come in and show what he can do again,” Hornby said.

Hornby will also have to do without injured fullback Latrell Mitchell, whose irresistible form helped spark the Bunnies’ mid-season revival.

Wayward goal-kicking in the absence of sharpshooter Mitchell saw South Sydney fall to the Dolphins last time out, despite both sides scoring six tries, putting an end to a five-game winning streak.

Hornby will not know the extent of Mitchell’s foot injury for another week or so when scans reveal whether the star can continue to play a part in the Rabbitohs’ finals push.

But for the Tigers, finals football is far from their minds after suffering a crushing 58-6 loss to Cronulla in their last match.

It was their third loss in a row and the third straight game they’d conceded 40 points or more.

“We’ve just got to own our performance at the moment, myself included,” lamented Tigers coach Benji Marshall.

“I’ve done a lot of looking in the mirror over the last week to be honest. I need to be better and I need to set the tone for the team and hopefully they can follow on.”

Marshall said it was unlikely captain Api Koroisau would recover from a calf injury in time for the game.

But on a positive note teen playmaker Latu Fainu will play alongside brothers Samuela and Sione for the first time.

Seeing the trio live out a childhood dream together was exciting for Marshall and Latu, who has had to fight for his opportunity.

“He’s had a bit of injury troubles and worked really hard to get himself right and deserves his opportunity,” Marshall said.

“I can tell he’s gonna be a player of the future.”

Walters adamant Broncos can kick into finals

Adam Reynolds will return from injury alongside all but one of Brisbane’s State of Origin stars as coach Kevin Walters scoffed at the prospect of the Broncos missing the NRL finals.

The captain will play against Newcastle on Saturday, training strongly this week and receiving the green light from medical staff after an 11-week absence to repair a ruptured bicep.

Selwyn Cobbo won’t back up from Wednesday’s Origin loss but Pat Carrigan will despite the Maroons forward leaving Suncorp Stadium in a moon boot to nurse a swollen ankle.

Fullback Reece Walsh was in good spirits at Friday’s captain’s run and victorious NSW Blues prop Payne Haas will complete the arsenal as the Broncos aim to end a six-game losing streak.

“It’d be wrong to dump it all on Adam, but he’s the type of player that does bring a lot of experience and confidence … it’s certainly a big in for us,” Walters confirmed on Friday.

“I’ve seen him up in the coaches’ box for the last nine, 10 weeks.

“Hearing him talk about the game … I know if he was on the field he could be helping them, which he’ll do tomorrow night.”

Last year’s beaten grand finalists are 13th with seven wins, one behind the Knights and two outside the top eight with eight regular-season games to play.

Walters scoffed when asked if he thought his men could right the ship and play finals.

“I’m not going to answer that … that’s a joke mate, of course we are,” he said.

“I have utmost faith and belief in these guys. Rugby league’s a funny game.

“It tests your character … because we’re so strong with our character that’s why I believe we’ll get through the other side.

“Not so much win, we need to play well this week. If we get our team up and about playing the footy they can, look out.”

Walters said Tristan Sailor and Josh Rogers would drop out of the team, while one of Blake Mozer and Tyson Smoothy will also be relegated.

The coach said Carrigan was “a little bit wounded” but could start after playing 70 minutes on Wednesday.

“He’ll go into battle and we’ll get as much as we can out of him … to help us get back,” Walters said.

“And (Walsh) he’s fine; he’s got the shirt off at training today. That’s always a good indicator that he’s ready to go.

“Most of us have taken a bit of a battering in the last few weeks but I keep saying: they’ve been training well, their attitude has been amazing and that’ll turn.

“If we keep working hard and supporting each other, good things are going to happen.”

with AAP