Eels coach Brad Arthur decided not to push young five-eighth Dylan Brown
Forgoing the old school theory of a punishing preseason to build for the yera ahead, Parramatta coach Brad Arthur had something else in mind for his boom five-eighth during the summer.
It’s the protection policy Parramatta put in place this summer to save young sensation Dylan Brown from himself.
While most coaches swear by the old-school theory that the harder players train in pre-season the bigger the rewards, Brad Arthur has revealed why he chose a different path for his boom young five-eighth, who battled back issues last year.
Brown will be having his first hit out of the season against Penrith in Bega, with Arthur set to name a near full strength squad that will include all the backline guns that didn’t play against South Sydney last Friday night.
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Dylan Brown’s training load was carefully managed. Photo: Damian ShawBut while there is going to be huge expectation on the Eels to lift even higher up the ladder this year, Arthur is very mindful of where Brown’s physical development is at – and that is why Brown’s pre-season was managed with care.
Regarded as one of the most dedicated of all the Eels players despite his age, Arthur said fitness was not an issue with Brown, nor was his courage to get his body in front of the big boppers who are constantly targeting him.
But Arthur explained that Brown still had to be put on a tight leash on occasions during heavy contact sessions so as not to put himself at further risk of suffering more problems that hampered his rookie year.
“Our high performance guys have done a really good job managing his load,” Arthur explained.
“Often he has been wanting to do more. But if we are doing a full on contact session he might do one day, but then the next day we don’t do back to back sessions with him.
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“We have just looked after him, that’s all.”
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Parramatta are mindful of putting too much on their young star. Photo: Phil HillyardArthur was confident Brown would not go into the season underdone after overcoming the back issues he had last year.
“He has done everything everyone else has done but at times we have just pulled him back maybe 10 or 20 per cent here or there,” Arthur added.
“There is no reason why he won’t be prepared as well as he should be.”
Arthur also said the Eels had been mindful of not making Brown put on weight at the expense of losing any of his speed or natural flair.
“He would have added a couple of kilos of muscle but he is fast and he is nice and agile and he is a good mover on his feet, so we don’t want to take that away from him,” Arthur said.
Arthur said he was really looking forward to see how another pre-season training together had helped his spine develop.
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As big a hit as Brown was in 2019, Arthur said it was worth remembering he only took over from Corey Norman as the first choice five-eighth halfway through pre-season.
So what we have seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg.
“Normy was training with us up until Christmas last year and was going to be our five-eighth and Dylan was training against him,” Arthur recalled.
“And then Normy left and Dylan came in but he really only had two months’ worth of training with Mitchy (Moses) and then he had a couple of games and his back was no good.
“So he had had a bit more time with Mitchy and Gutho now, so that should help.
“I would like to think we can lock that spine in for a couple of years and they should get better and better as we go.”
Replies
A good article.
Not a bad move to reduce his workload at times, it’s not as if he’s ever going to get really unfit. He’s like a spring. Can’t wait to see how he goes through this year, particularly having Johns as a mentor.
Good Idea. I remember Alvaro killing it in 2018, then after bulking up more in the off season he just wasn't the same player in 2019. Looking forward to a great season.
Age and body maturity.
Smart move not throwing that load on him early.
Bloody shame the Bush Coach never had the same attitude about Moeroa's shoulder a few years back.
Only looking to lock in current spine "for a couple of years" ?
The need to resign Mahoney - anyone have any news on where that's up to?