19 hours Ago By Max McKinney
Newcastle are desperate to become a genuine premiership contender , and as their attack has shown in recent seasons, they need a truly elite playmaker . Login or signup to continue reading They've been heavily reliant on fullback Kalyn Ponga since losing experienced halfback Mitchell Pearce prior to the 2022 season. Last year, Knights coach Adam O'Brien used more than half a dozen different halves combinations in a search for answers.
Newcastle need stability in the halfback and five-eighth positions. Brown is without doubt a gamble , but with few options on the market, the Knights have backed the New Zealand international. Brown's age - 24 - suggests his best years are ahead of him.
It's also a bit of an insurance policy, as signing the Eels playmaker should help keep Ponga at the club beyond 2027, and if it doesn't, at least they will have Brown. Brown's contract is reportedly worth $1.3 million per season , or $13 million over 10 years.
This could increase slightly under ratchet clauses if the salary cap goes up after the next broadcast deal is signed in coming years. Brown will consume a significant chunk of the salary cap . Combined, Brown and Ponga - who earns about $1.
4 million per season - will consume more than 20 per cent of the annual cap. The Knights have several high-profile players coming off contract this year, including Jackson Hastings, Jayden Brailey , Adam Elliott and Jack Hetherington, which opens up space to accommodate Brown. The Knights also only have about a dozen players signed for 2027 and only a handful for 2028, which means they can plan around Brown's big-money deal.
The Knights believe Brown can wear their No.7 jersey. Whether he does long term remains to be seen.
Plenty are doubting he can be the chief playmaker. "I don't know," Newcastle's greatest ever player, and immortal halfback, Andrew Johns said. "He is not an organising halfback," Johns' brother, Matthew, concluded.
Newcastle officials are yet to comment publicly since Brown made his decision, but a fortnight ago recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan said of Brown: "If Dylan is here, we go from a top-eight team to a genuine hope of winning a comp. "That's how highly I rate him. I've been trying to sign him since he was 17 when I worked for the Warriors.
"He's a marvellous player and a marvellous kid." Brown's deal is for the 2026 season and beyond. There have been no reports suggesting he could come early.
Parramatta were thumped 56-18 by the Storm in Melbourne in their season opener on Sunday, but Brown's deal was well in the works before then. With Eels halfback Mitchell Moses out for at least six weeks with a foot injury, the Eels need Brown - and have said they have no interest in releasing him. Newcastle are unlikely to be able to accommodate Brown this season anyway unless they make roster changes.
They have one vacant spot in their top-30 roster, but not the cap space. Hooker Jayden Brailey has reportedly signed with Canberra . There are other players who have been told they won't be re-signed as well.
If they departed early, there might be room for Brown. But it appears highly unlikely. Not at the moment, but he could be in years to come.
That's the general sentiment among ex-players and pundits across the game. Panthers legend Scott Sattler said the 10-year deal was "fraught with danger". Former Sharks and NSW Blues skipper Paul Gallen had a similar feeling: "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? If this fails .
.. who has to answer the question? I hope it works out .
.. but I just think it is a little bit irresponsible.
" Newcastle's 2001 premiership-winning coach Michael Hagan said: "That's the type of money that the good players are now commanding, and that's the marketplace ...
PNG and possibly a team in Perth will come into the competition in 2028, so the market will only get harder and the salaries will only go up and up." Only time will tell if Brown is worth the money. But the pressure is sure to be on to contend for a title in coming years, especially while the Knights have the likes of representative stars Ponga, Bradman Best, Phoenix Crossland, Dane Gagai, Tyson Frizell, Dylan Lucas and Fletcher Sharpe in their side.
Max McKinney is a sports reporter with the Newcastle Herald. He previously worked in news, covering mainly local government and transport. Max mostly reports on the Newcastle Knights, but also covers a mix of local sport.
Max McKinney is a sports reporter with the Newcastle Herald. He previously worked in news, covering mainly local government and transport. Max mostly reports on the Newcastle Knights, but also covers a mix of local sport.
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