Will Dylan Brown be worth the gamble?
The Newcastle Knights have made a big call signing Eels player Dylan Brown on a ten year contract worth a reported $13 million from 2026.
Of Māori and Samoan descent, Brown who will play his last season this year for the Eels before moving to the Knights, confirmed the speculation surrounding the deal posting on his Instagram story.
“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 deal secures Brown for the Knights for 10 years and will see him receive a payout of $1.3 million each year. This will elevate Brown as the highest paid player in the NRL by next year’s season.
Fronting the media for the first time since the deal was announced, Brown said that it was a hard decision to make to leave the Eels.
“Obviously I have gained some good relationships here at the club not just with the teammates but also with the coaching staff. I’ve been here for a very long time so there are relationships everywhere which I will miss” Brown said.
“Knights have a lot of faith in me and they’ve put down ten years for me, I didn’t think I would be leaving this club and to be honest I never really wanted to leave but there are other reasons for leaving like my family and future”
There have been a lot of questions regarding the Knights proposal, particularly on whether Brown is worth the large sum.
The young playmaker wouldn’t be drawn on opinions and comments that have been made about his deal.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion” he said
“I play the best that I can and the offer is put in front of me. Money’s never been the main thing for me.”
Brown is no stranger to criticism, the most recent for his past performance in Eels colours in the number six jersey (five eight position).
His pairing with Mitchell Moses in the halves has seen success. But there’s been questions around the absence of Moses due to injury, and how Brown has failed to take control for the side.
Moses was sidelined for half of the 2024 season, and without him saw the Eels drop in the ladder. Last week they also struggled in their season opener against the Storm where they were thrashed 56-18.
With the Knights likely to play Brown as a halfback rather than a five eight, a lot of scrutiny has been made of it.
Premiership winning five eight and former Knights player Matthew Johns spoke in regards to the deal and that Brown is not yet ready to make such a move to his former club.
“This is not 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.
His co-host and also premiership winning player Cooper Cronk stated that Brown lacks in taking lead and believes he is not the man that can take control for the Knights next year.
“I was disappointed in what Dylan Brown delivered when Mitchell Moses was out last year,” Cronk added.
“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 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.”
While a lot has been said of the deal, Eels still have this year left with Brown, and are hoping they can utilise him with his time left in the club.
The Eels are back at home this weekend ready to take on the Tigers, with Moses still out due to injury, Brown will pair up with Toa Samoa playmaker Ronald Volkman in the halves pairing.
