Eels confirm double contract upgrade
The Parramatta Eels have confirmed Richard Penisini will join the club’s Top 30, effective immediately, while talented prospect Ryley Smith also joins the club’s development list for the next two seasons.
Penisini, who is the brother of gun centre Will and has battled with injuries in recent times, will now spend the rest of his currently ongoing contract with the blue and gold – scheduled to run until the end of 2026 – as part of the Top 30.
An outside back who specialises in playing on the wing, Penisini is a local junior and has impressed at every level he played, making his way through the SG Ball, Jersey Flegg and New South Wales Cup in the same season – 2023.
He may well have made a debut at NRL level in 2024 if not for injuries, which turned into something of a common theme throughout the Eels playing ranks.
“Richard’s promotion to the Top 30 is a reflection of his hard work and dedication. As a local junior, we’ve seen his potential coming through our elite pathways program and are proud to have him take this next step in his career,” Parramatta general manager of football Mark O’Neill said.
Smith, meanwhile, has been upgraded on the back of an exceptional pre-season where he has excelled in the club’s depleted hooking ranks.
The departure of Matt Arthur to the Newcastle Knights means Smith is now right behind Brendan Hands and Joey Lussick for the club’s number nine jumper.
A former Australian Schoolboy who already has NSW Cup experience, O’Neill said Smith deserves his promotion.
“Ryley has been very impressive during the pre-season and thoroughly deserves his promotion to the development list. His leadership, character and skill from dummy half makes our overall squad stronger. We are excited to see him continue to develop with us over the next few years,” O’Neill said.
Smith is contracted with the Eels through to the end of 2026, having originally joined before the start of 2023.
$13m tug-of-war: Mystery club joins Knights in race for Dylan Brown
The tabled deal would see him earn the richest contract in NRL history.
As the race for Dylan Brown’s services heats up, a second NRL club has reportedly joined the Newcastle Knights in tabling him a $13 million contract to lure him away from the Parramatta Eels.
One of the hottest properties to hit the open market alongside the likes of Adam Reynolds, Cody Walker, Daly Cherry-Evans and Te Maire Martin, Brown’s future has been clouded in uncertainty over the past month.
This comes after he was offered to all 16 rival NRL teams and Rugby Australia and could decide – by Round 10 of the 2025 NRL season – to opt out of his current deal with the Eels at the end of the season due to a player-option clause in his contract.
After Newcastle Knights CEO Phillip Gardner confirmed that the club had tabled a contract until 2035 to poach Brown away from the Eels, News Corp reports that a second club has decided to table him a 10-year contract worth around $13 million.
