Despite having only played five NRL games in his career, Ronald Volkman might be a wise addition to the Parramatta Eels’ roster for the upcoming campaign.
Nearly a year after his infamously disastrous move to St George Illawarra, 22-year-old Volkman has signed a one-year contract with the Eels.
Volkman will give new coach Jason Ryles much-needed competition for slots on the squad, even though he won’t jump Mitchell Moses or Dylan Brown into the starting lineup for round one.
Backrower Ryan Matterson was forced to play in the halves when both Moses and Brown were absent in mid-2023, and the Eels have been plagued by this lack of depth in recent seasons.
Volkman has already started working out with the Eels at their north-west Sydney base in Kellyville.
Following the Dragons’ announcement in January that they had acquired the former Waverley College rugby union star from the Warriors, Volkman was sidelined for the season due to a significant shoulder injury discovered during a medical check.
Volkman’s contract had not been officially documented with the NRL, thus the Dragons mercilessly cut him.
He then had to return home with his parents after failing to find a job elsewhere.
Due to the incident, the Dragons received a $40,000 suspended fine in September.
Now that his future is certain, Volkman wants to give back to the Eels for believing in him. He has subsequently had shoulder surgery and was linked to a 2025 move to the Sea Eagles.
He told News Corp, “I thought coming back was going to be a bit of a longshot.”
I stopped playing football. I gave it up. To try to give it another chance, I needed to clear my mind.
“I’ve trained hard to get my body back to a good enough condition, and now that I’m here, everything is fine.”
Volkman, who last participated in a competitive rugby league match at the Pacific Championships in October 2023, will require some match fitness.
