Johns has pinpointed one specific area the playmaker will have to change.
Knights legend Andrew Johns has warned Dylan Brown about the pressures of living in the Newcastle ‘fishbowl’ and says the Parramatta No.6 will have to become a much more dominant and vocal playmaker if he is to succeed. Brown revealed this week that he’s agreed to join Newcastle from 2026 on an eye-watering 10-year, $13 million deal, with the expectation that the 24-year-old will take over the No.7 jersey Johns made famous at the club.
Johns has worked with Brown in the past and admits he’s not sold on whether Brown has the necessary attributes to be a dominant halfback and someone who will be expected to steer the side across the park. The league ‘Immortal’ also questioned whether Brown will be able to deal with the intense scrutiny that comes with such a hefty price tag, where everything he does will be analysed with a fine-tooth comb.
And the Knights legend says that pressure of expectation will be compounded living in rugby league-mad Newcastle, where the spotlight will be on the Kiwi Test star all the time. “He’s about to jump into the fishbowl. It can be exhausting but most of it is positive,” Johns said on Nine’s ‘Freddy and the Eighth’ program. “But he goes to Coles and by the time he finishes shopping he’s talking to 10 or 15 different people who are asking the same question. ‘You’re playing the Broncos this weekend, do you reckon you’ll win?’ And it’s all good but it can be exhausting.”
Johns noted that Brown is a laid-back character but says that is something he’ll have to change when he gets to Newcastle and is handed the No.7 jersey. The Knights legend thinks it’s going to be a massive “challenge” for Brown to transform himself into the type of on-field general that barks instructions and organises his team on the field, but insists that’s what he is being paid $1.3 million per season to do.
“All eyes are going to be on him everywhere he goes,” Johns said. “So he’s got the pressure of the big money and then he’s going to be in that fishbowl. It’s going to be tough but he probably has the personality, he’s very laid back, Dylan. But that’s got to go. Once he gets there on the paddock day one and then on the field, you’ve got to be barking.”
Dylan Brown price tag comes with premiership expectations
Johns has warned Newcastle they’ll have to be patient with Brown and give him time to adapt to his new surroundings and teammates but concedes his massive price tag comes with the expectation of delivering the club a premiership. “I like the combination of Brown, Fletcher Sharpe and Kalyn Ponga all playing together. But Newcastle have to be patient with how that comes together and how Dylan fits in. They do have 10 years,” Johns wrote for The Sydney Morning Herald.
“But the big test of Dylan and that combination will come in the big games. If he’s getting paid that money, he needs to deliver premierships and he needs to be winning grand finals and finals… Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo just get the Panthers home, they might only win by two or four points, but they just find a way to drag them over the line and have won four premierships as a result.”
Johns’ comments come after he questioned whether Brown had the necessary attributes to become a premiership-winning No.7. But the league ‘Immortal’ admitted the lack of superstar halves available on the market certainly factored into Newcastle’s decision to go so hard at the Eels’ No.6 with an offer he simply couldn’t refuse.
“The more I thought of it, there’s no halfbacks around, so I understand,” Johns said on Nine earlier this week. “Is he worth that money? No, not as a five-eighth, but they have bought him as a halfback. They’ve gone chips all in, but this is a huge gamble. He is untried at No.7 and I have worked with Dylan and he has all the tools to be a halfback… It’s exciting if they can get it right, but he’s untried in that position. He’s gonna be the main man and gonna need to be the halfback.”
Johns’ concerns over Brown are valid considering most critics agree that he hasn’t yet performed for his current club with the No.7 jersey on his back. Brown has the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong in the coming weeks with halves partner Mitchell Moses out injured but things have already gotten off to a horror start after Parramatta’s 56-18 drubbing by the Storm in round one.