The Newcastle Knights have made a $13 million gamble by signing Dylan Brown and the Eels star might been recruited to play the wrong position, according to premiership winners Matty Johns and Cooper Cronk.
Parramatta confirmed on Monday Brown had agreed to leave the Eels at season’s end and join Newcastle on a mega 10-year deal worth $13 million.
Brown shared the news to his social media followers a short time later.
“Hello everyone, I have decided to take an opportunity that is best for my family,” he wrote.
“To the Blue and Gold family … nothing changes. I’m locked in for this year and we have a job to do. Love You.”
The Knights are desperately hoping Brown can be the halfback who can help turn them from top eight fancies to premiership contenders and win their first title since 2001.
Halves selection has long been a dilemma for Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien and an area of weakness for the Knights that has left them a tier below the NRL’s top clubs.
Fletcher Sharpe and Jack Cogger played five-eighth and halfback, respectively, in Newcastle’s gritty 10-8 win over the Tigers in round 1.
Parramatta five-eighth Dylan Brown is heading to the Knights on a monster deal. Pic: NRL
Johns pointed out Brown has played his career so far at five-eighth and is far from a traditional No. 7, and suggestions he has the ability to run a team is at best is a gross misconception.
“This is not a criticism … This is just a fact. Dylan is a six,” the Knights premiership winning five-eighth said on Fox League’s Matty and Cronk.
“We’ve already spoken about the difference between a six and a seven.
“Dylan can impact a game heavily, he can have a big impact on a game; but to do that, he needs someone alongside him to control the game. That’s what he needs.
“Dylan is an explosive player, he impacts the game through moments. He’s not a seven, he’s a six.
“Dylan’s game is the game of a deputy. Which most sixes are; they are deputies.
“At the moment, he’s a reactive player, he’s a deputy, he’s a pure six.
“Hell of a six. Very good six. But he ain’t a seven.”
A longtime criticism of Brown is that he has struggled in the chief playmaker’s role when Parramatta halfback Mitchell Moses has been out of the side.
Moses missed his team’s season opener with an aggravated foot injury and his absence was felt as the Melbourne Storm demolished Parramatta 56-18 on Sunday.
“I was disappointed in what Dylan Brown delivered when Mitchell Moses was out last year,” Cronk added.
Dylan Brown (left) has struggled in the absence of Mitch Moses.
“We’ve said this before but when a five-eighth has their main man go down, sometimes it’s really good learning and development for you to go wear the seven and find out what it takes in 80 minutes and during the week; to say, ‘Oh, that’s what Mitch does through the week, that’s what Nathan (Cleary) does. When I go back to six, I’m going to bring that to my game’.
“And he moved to halfback and he didn’t really do much for Parramatta.
“As someone who was watching Dylan Brown play, I was thinking, ‘This is a chance, this is actually going to elevate his five-eighth play, understanding what Mitch goes through every week’. But it just didn’t have that impact.”
Brown made his NRL debut in 2019 and has since played 124 games for the Parramatta. His current deal with the Eels ran until 2031 but was littered with controversial get-out clauses.
“I understand why they’ve done it. They are rolling the dice, they’re taking a huge gamble,” Braith Anasta said on NRL 360.
“He’s not a genuine seven, so they still need a seven. I don’t think he’s going to go there and control the team.
“He’ll make Kalyn’s job a lot easier, there’s no doubt about that, and Kalyn will be a better player for it. I can understand that as well, and Kalyn wants to win a premiership, so it shows that they are making moves to do so.
“What I can’t get my head around is the 10-year deal.
“He’s 24 and he hasn’t won a premiership, he hasn’t even got close.
“Daly Cherry-Evans has been a sensational buy for Manly, right — but have they won a comp (during his long-term deal)? I think he’s been incredible for the Eagles … but what I’m saying is, Newcastle are doing this because they want to win a comp, and is he the same level as DCE?”
Veteran News Corp journalist Phil Rothfield replied: “No, I don’t think he is. Nowhere near that.
“I do not think he’s worth anywhere near that amount of money.”
With Kalyn Ponga earning $1.4 million per season, Newcastle’s salary cap will have nearly $3 million of their salary cap tied up with two players when Brown joins the Knights next year.
The Knights are set to have some room in the salary cap soon, with Jayden Brailey and Jackson Hastings expected to be offloaded at the end of the season.
Leo Thompson is heading to the Bulldogs in 2026 and fellow forward Tyson Frizell is coming to the end of his career.
Former Cronulla captain Paul Gallen questioned Newcastle’s decision to offer Brown a decade-long deal.
“The first thing I’m asking if I’m a Newcastle fan is: the people who made the decision to sign him for 10 years, are they going to be there in 10 years’ time? Because if this doesn’t work, if this fails, who’s to pay?” Gallen said on Nine’s 100% Footy.
“Now I hope it works out for him, I hope he goes out there and kills it, I hope they win a comp or two and everything works out OK. But I just think it’s a little bit irresponsible signing someone to a 10-year deal.
“The money — I’m all for players making as much money as they can.
“I just think it’s a little bit irresponsible from certain people at the club, and I hope whoever made the decision is still there in 10 years’ time.
“This game is such a tough game, it’s so physical, these days with all the head knocks and injuries things can go wrong pretty quickly.”
“A lot of it … comes out of the desperation of our game,” Phil Gould added.
“We’ve got so few playmakers available. It’s been proven you need representative-class playmakers to challenge for premierships in the competition. That’s just a given. And we don’t have enough for every team in the competition. There’s only a handful of them that can get the job done.
“Dylan Brown is seen as the next wave … Dylan Brown is probably one of the more explosive young ball-runners in the competition, [so] I can see why they’ve taken the gamble.
“I’m not worried about the money and I’m not that worried about the 10 years, either, because I think they’re getting him in the prime of his career.”
