Jason Ryles is unsure whether Bailey Simonsson has played his last game at Parramatta, after Dylan Brown’s recall led the disgruntled centre to take leave from the club.
After initially naming Jordan Samrani, Eels coach Ryles will play Newcastle-bound Brown out of position in place of injured centre Sean Russell against North Queensland on Sunday.
Simonsson’s previous requests for a release are understood to have factored into Ryles preferencing Brown over the 27-year-old, who is a specialist outside back.
The situation frustrated Simonsson into requesting a release again this week, with the Eels then granting him a leave of absence from training.
Ryles was confident he would soon return to the club.
“Bailey made that decision to stay away for a couple of days, which we fully supported,” Ryles said.
“He’ll get himself sorted, then we’ll get him back into training as soon as we can.
“(The situation) has been a little bit of a shock, but it’s footy and it’s all part of it. We’ve got to manage the players as best we can. We’ll keep moving forward.”
A member of the Eels’ 2022 grand final team, Simonsson signed a three-year contract extension last August, only weeks after the Eels named Ryles head coach.
Ryles has wasted no time clearing out other players amid the Eels’ rebuild, with Clint Gutherson, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Joe Ofahengaue and Bryce Cartwright all shown the door.
Despite the recent stoush, Ryles said Simonsson was “definitely” still part of his plans if he wanted to be at the Eels.
But amid the uncertainty of the situation, Ryles was unsure whether Simonsson had played his last game for the Eels, and had not yet broached the subject with him.
“I can’t answer that. I’m not too sure,” he said.
“Not at the moment (we haven’t spoken about it) and I’m not going to elaborate on anything that I speak to the players about. They’re private conversations.
“But ‘Bail’ has been really well supported by the club.”
Asked whether Simonsson’s place at the club was tenable, Ryles played a straight bat.
“I’m not going to comment on that, mate,” he said.
Brown has become the beneficiary of Simonsson’s absence, with the five-eighth back in the first-grade side after being overlooked for three weeks.
Ryles had previously insisted the Eels needed to prioritise planning for a future without Brown, who joins the Knights on a historically rich deal next season.
But the coach said Russell’s potentially season-ending hand injury had forced him to reassess.
“(Brown) hadn’t been dropped or anything like that and things changed. An opportunity came up and we found a spot for him,” Ryles said.
“It’s exciting for him. He’s been training really hard. He’s maintained a really, really good attitude in and around the place.”
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