The Parramatta Eels have finally found their first win of the 2025 NRL season, but it didn't come without it's heart stopping moments after the first golden point contest of the year.
In the end, it was former St George Illawarra Dragon Zac Lomax who stepped up to kick a winning field goal over his old side which moved the Eels away from what would have been a zero and five start to the year.
The game saw Ryles flip his backline combinations around, with Will Penisini and Zac Lomax forming a new-look combination on the right-hand side, while Sean Russell went to the left-hand side to partner Josh Addo-Carr.
It means that, despite being named at centre and moving to the Eels to play the position, Lomax is back on the wing where he was at his damaging best last season for the Dragons, while Russell moves into the role he spent most of his pre-season in.
"Will [Penisini] is back on the right, so he and Zac are a combo there with Zac [Lomax] on the wing. Sean Russell is at left centre. He trained there all pre-season. Foxxy [Josh Addo-Carr] is an out and out left winger that can kind of play both sides because of his experience," Ryles said during his post match press conference.
"We made that call pretty early in the week and I think it's just the best balance for our team.
"You can see as the combinations grow, especially defensively, it's the best for our team."
Lomax, outside of kicking the winning field goal, had a superb performance for his new club, running for 188 metres and making four tackle busts, while Russell, Penisini and Addo-Carr all also went past the 100-metre barrier during the contest.
Parramatta's win hands them a one and four start to the year, with the blue and gold due to travel to Darwin for a clash with the Canberra Raiders next weekend.
