He's still only 20, but gifted Parramatta five-eighth Dylan Brown now feels experienced enough to assume a more assertive attacking role in his third NRL season.

Brown, who has played 33 first-grade games, has quickly become a key cog for the Eels alongside halfback Mitchell Moses.

The pair have struck up a slick combination, but Brown told NRL.com they're continually working on achieving the perfect balance with his 26-year-old comrade naturally being "quite a dominant half".

And that means the younger playmaker showing increased confidence in picking the moments to inject himself into the action.

"Not so much overcalling, it's just knowing when to get involved. When the opportunity is there, I've got to take it," Brown said.

"It's more so just coming from within, like backing myself and understanding when I need the ball [and] the players outside me, understanding what they need and getting them the ball."

Eels halves coach Andrew Johns's involvement was restricted from outside the club's COVID bubble in 2020, but the eighth Immortal is back at close quarters at training, which is set to accelerate Brown's development.

The rising Kiwi star's body is in good order after an ankle injury caused him to miss four games before last year's finals, while a condensed pre-season hasn't been "as draining" as normal.

And Brown said the lower-back bruising which plagued him during his debut season in 2019, an issue more commonly reported in fast-bowling cricketers, was no longer troubling him.

"Quite a lot of the boys, most league boys have problems with their back. But the main problem – I had that injury in my first year [of NRL] – the seriousness of that is gone," he said.

"It's just managing [that]; it's just part of my everyday routine."

While paying no mind to "the same shit they always say" regarding pressure on Parramatta to win a title amid a 35-year drought, Brown pulled no punches about where they need to improve following another straight-sets playoffs exit.


"To be honest, we're still pretty disappointed … We had two chances there [in 2020] and we sort of crumbled," he said.

"It just came down to disciplinary things. There are lots of positives … but you don't want to go the whole year and finish [the way we did].

"We sort of did the same thing the year before; we got to the finals and put on a rubbish performance [losing in week two]. We're just going to have to stick in it this year and be ready for the back end."

 

Off the field, Brown is among the most popular players on social media, where he isn't shy in being his laidback self. He enjoys engaging with fans, even though the 24/7 access can be "full-on".

"Young people, that's our crowd. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have a job," he said.

"Interacting with them – it's good for them, they get a lot out of it, and it's good for us … I try to stay active on social media and show people what I get up to."

You need to be a member of 1Eyed Eel to add comments!

Join 1Eyed Eel

Votes: 0
Email me when people reply –

Replies

    • Ikr. Every person that wants him to move to centre does my head in. Some of them say he can play centre and play in the halves later on. But how is he meant to gain proper halves expereince than. Just because he is in his third year, people are expecting Brown to already be near his potential. But in reality he is still 20 years old and is peformin very well for his age. People seem to have a problem with his attack not his defence (everyone knows he is one of the best if not the best defensive half). While he may not get try assists to his name the lead up play from him is crucial as he straightens the attack very well. I expect him to be the next Cameron Munster.

      • This reply was deleted.
        • Yes, Brown has played 33 NRL games (for 22 wins). At the same age Munster had only played four games at fullback (2 wins, 2 losses). At the same age Brown is now, Cronk had only played half a dozen games off the bench.

          Dylan Brown is still eligible for Jersey Flegg ffs

          • This reply was deleted.
            • I am not saying he is as good as Cameron Munster rather that Brown has the potential to play at Cameron Munster's level.

            • FFS MICK!!!

              • This reply was deleted.
                • Well firstly, the Panthers have a very good team. They were pumped for their first game since the grand final and their effort was excellent. They always got numbers around the ball and made it hard for us. However they also weren't pinged for any discretions and got away with plenty of offside and wrestling that would normally have resulted in six again calls in our favour. It certainly disrupted our attack, and without the six agains we couldn't wear them down. I think both teams will be top six this year.

  • Go through the 2020 highlights and Brown features heavily. A pinpoint kick, a deft pass, cover defence etc. He's got all the skills and he's got loads of time. That's a feature you can't train. Everything slows down for him. He's quality. And also hilarious. 

  • He will.push for dally m

  • About time.

  • Andrew Johns can only be a good thing, right? We saw Moses (calf injury nit helping) trying to manage more in 2020 and less running are they trying to put to much information into their brains and maybe losing a bit of the natural instinct, it's a tough one, the perfect mix is needed

This reply was deleted.

More stuff to read

Nightmare Off-Season replied to Cʜɪᴇғ -'s discussion Big News On Lomax
"For sure, as mentioned, 800k & there's no way the Eels will look at him. 600-650k, is possibly a different story. As you mentioned with salary cap, those centres might've been 600k but that was decent coin also.
100% agree though that it all depends…"
2 minutes ago
AlShaw replied to Cʜɪᴇғ -'s discussion Big News On Lomax
"I didn't say classy, I said expensive 
2020 I don't believe Chambers was at the Storm, Olam was on his first cheap contract out of the Qcup and Brenko Lee was also cheap 
Latrell and Manu weren't on huge money, not back then. They were still on…"
12 minutes ago
EA replied to Cʜɪᴇғ -'s discussion Big News On Lomax
"I think we need to find a winger not a centre. I just don't see how signing Lomax helps with our long term planning of the club. If Talagi does well at 5/8 we will want him to play centre when Moses is back or at a minimum play him at 14. However by…"
14 minutes ago
LB replied to Cʜɪᴇғ -'s discussion Big News On Lomax
"And an order of spring rolls, dim sims, Mongolian Lamb and prawn chips from Canterbury Leagues Chinese restaurant."
15 minutes ago
More…