Newcastle’s decision to sign Dylan Brown to the richest contract in rugby league history has divided the opinions of Knights stars who wore the No.7 jersey before him, with doubts over whether the Parramatta five-eighth can become a full-time halfback.
Mitchell Pearce, the last halfback brought to Newcastle on a $1 million-a-year deal, questioned the deal, declaring: “I find it strange the Knights think he’s a No.7.”
But club great Kurt Gidley backed the plan, tipping Brown to “thrive” as a No.7, saying his price tag would be “irrelevant” if he could help deliver the Knights a premiership.
As for the club’s favourite sons – Andrew and Matthew Johns – the jury is out regarding Brown as a scheming No.7.
Brown will join the Knights next season on a 10-year contract worth $13-14 million and is set to play at halfback after having spent his first seven seasons in the NRL career playing mainly five-eighth for Parramatta.
Pearce said he was far from convinced that Brown would succeed in the primary play-making position, having failed to fire on the few occasions he had been asked to call the shots for the Eels.
Dylan Brown is on his way to Newcastle.Credit: Getty
“With that price tag and not being from there, you have to earn the locals’ respect, which is what Dylan will have to do,” Pearce said.
“But 10 years? That’s a long time. I’ve always found 10-year contracts strange. The security is great, but even the greatest players of all time, when they get into their thirties, there are no guarantees their bodies will hold up. Then the clubs have to pay them out if it doesn’t go to plan.
“This decision has made so many headlines because of the length of the deal, and the fact it’s crazy money – but it’s also because they are paying a guy to potentially play out of position. And I can’t agree with that.
“I think Dylan is a No.6, and I find it strange the Knights think he’s a No.7. He might prove me wrong, but he plays his best as that instinctive No.6.
“There’s a massive difference between the positions. Playing halfback you need to be calculated, you need to be the organiser, you need to be able to game manage and kick.
“A traditional No.6 is more of a runner and plays eyes-up. You want them to be more flamboyant. If you try to give a No.6 like Dylan Brown more structure, part of their game can suffer.
“The few times he’s played halfback without Mitchell [Moses] he struggled to find his groove. It will be interesting to see where Newcastle play him.”
But Gidley, who played 251 games for the Knights and captained them for eight seasons, predicted the extra responsibility of steering a team around the field would allow Brown to “thrive” and was confident the move to first receiver would bring the best out of the Kiwi international.
“If I’m in his shoes, I reckon he’s totally backing himself 100 per cent to deliver what he’s signed for,” Gidley said.
“I’m sure he’ll buy into the culture of the club and the history and what the expectations are. It’s a great opportunity to thrive, in that type of scenario.
Andrew and Matthew Johns believe that Dylan Brown is a five-eighth, not a halfback.Credit: Getty
“There’s a lot of talk about the price tag and length of deal, but I think it’s a great opportunity to enjoy that extra pressure … it’s a great time to thrive.”
Gidley added that if Brown could help Newcastle win a premiership “then it’s irrelevant what the price tag is”.
High-profile commentators Andrew and Matthew Johns, who formed Newcastle’s greatest-ever halves pairing, had reservations about Brown’s positional switch.
Andrew, who worked with Brown as an assistant coach at the Eels, described him as “a world-class player” but raised doubts on his Immortal Behaviour podcast about the proposed switch to halfback.
“Whether he’s got the tools to be a main playmaker, I don’t know,” Andrew said.
His older brother was even more strident on Fox League’s Matty and Cronk show.
“He needs someone alongside him to control the game … Dylan’s game is the game of a deputy,” Matthew said. “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.”
Brown has been the perfect foil at Parramatta for Moses, the incumbent NSW and Kangaroos halfback, but the Knights haven’t signed him to play second fiddle. He’ll be their main man, in a new role, and judging by his career statistics, it could be a steep learning curve.
Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien.Credit: Getty
In the 112 games Brown has played for the Eels as five-eighth, they’ve won 66 times at a 58.9 per cent strike rate. In his 10 games as halfback, they won twice.
In his NRL career, Brown has produced 65 try assists. To put that in context, Ben Hunt last year delivered an NRL-best 30 try assists in his 22 games for St George Illawarra.
The NRL’s premier player, Penrith champion Nathan Cleary, backed Brown to prove the doubters wrong and expects he will form a potent partnership with Knights skipper Kalyn Ponga.
“There’s been a lot of talk about him being a six rather than a seven,” Cleary told Nine’s 100% Footy.
“He’s obviously signed with Newcastle as a seven. One thing about his game that I really like is how square he plays.
“I think that will just open up so much room for Kalyn out the back, and I think him and Kalyn could really form a dynamic duo.”
Cleary said the addition of Brown would help Newcastle recruit other players “because back-rowers, centres and wingers want to play at that club because they get all this space and can go into holes and all that sort of stuff”.
Brown’s arrival should at the very least improve the mood of Knights coach Adam O’Brien, who believes the media are “fixated” on his turnover in playmakers. In the 122 games since O’Brien took the reins at Newcastle, he has used 16 different players in the halves, including five last season.
“Just leave the halves to me,” he said after the recent trial win against Sydney Roosters. “Lay off it.”
What O’Brien craves is a settled scrum base pairing, and he believes he’s found a long-term, running five-eighth in 20-year-old dynamo Fletcher Sharpe. What he needs alongside Sharpe is a game manager, and the Knights identified Brown as the best available option.
There was a sense of urgency because Newcastle have a number of high earners coming off contract. They are unlikely to be retained, freeing up the salary-cap funds to pay Brown’s massive wage.
Speaking on 100% Footy, Paul Gallen queried the sense of a 10-season contract for a player who turns 25 this season, adding: “I hope whoever made the decision is still there in 10 years’ time.”
Fellow panellist Phil Gould argued that Brown was about to enter his prime years, pointing to the veteran halves in the NRL who are still on top of their game.
But then, in typical fashion, Gould hit the nail squarely on the head.
“They’ve obviously seen something in him they need,” Gould said. “But a lot of this is the desperation in the game.”
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