By Dan Walsh
Dylan Brown has the chance to prove he’s worth $1.3 million a season as rookie Parramatta coach Jason Ryles confronts a daunting 24 per cent win rate without skipper and star halfback Mitchell Moses.
Moses will miss the first six weeks of Ryles’ tenure in charge of the Eels after scans revealed a stress reaction in his foot.
While Brown weighs up eye-watering interest in the form of a potential $13 million, 10-year deal that Newcastle are entertaining, Moses’ absence to start the year mirrors the same rocky start to Brad Arthur’s final season in charge at the club.
Moses had surgery and a screw inserted into his left foot last year, with recurring soreness recently prompting a new round of scans that initially did not pinpoint the injury.
Just a week after inking his own five-year, $6.5 million upgraded extension, Moses will wear a moon boot for the next few weeks as part of his recovery from what is effectively deep bone bruising. A stress reaction can develop into a stress fracture if not managed properly.
Losing his newly minted Eels captain is the last thing Ryles needs ahead of a clash with his old Storm side and coaching mentor Craig Bellamy, with Parramatta needing NRL approval for third-string halfback Ronald Volkman to step into the No.7 jersey.
The Eels have lost 19 of their past 25 games without Moses for a win percentage of just 24 per cent over the past two years. Parramatta boasts a 56 per cent overall record with Moses in their line-up, which drops to 34 per cent across his entire Eels career.
For coach Ryles, the silver lining is at least knowing the exact issue and recovery route for his star half after weeks of uncertainty as he backed Brown to take charge in his absence.
“We’ve got that timeframe of six weeks which is something to work towards,” Ryles told this masthead.
“Mitch came back early to training and had a really good block of training before that bit of soreness a few weeks back that sparked all the scans and investigation into what was happening.
Dylan Brown could be on his way out of the Eels.Credit: Getty
“We weren’t sure there for a couple of weeks but at least it’s clear now and there’s a recovery plan.
“It’s footy, it happens. You can’t control the timing of some things, but what we can control is how we prepare and getting Ronnie ready to perform. It’s all part of footy, isn’t it?
“Dylan’s the senior player so that will happen naturally and it already has in training. It’s good for Dylan’s development as well to be the senior half and we’re confident that Dyl is ready for that role on the weekend.”
Moses’ absence presents Brown with a golden chance to prove his value to the Knights and other potential suitors given doubts around whether he can be a true game-managing half and take charge of a side.
Now 24 and a first-choice playmaker for New Zealand with a grand final appearance and 124 NRL games, concerns remain around what has been touted as a $1.3 million a year investment for Newcastle.
Particularly given skipper Kalyn Ponga was already the highest-paid player in the game until Moses inked his new upgraded extension.
A six-week lay-off will rule Moses out of Parramatta’s early round games against Melbourne, Wests Tigers, Canterbury, Manly, St George Illawarra and Canberra.
A round seven return against the Tigers would give the incumbent NSW Blues halfback three matches before Laurie Daley names his Origin I squad.
Volkman, meanwhile, only joined the Eels in December on a $1200-a-week contract after more than a year out with the shoulder injury that ended his Dragons career before it started.
Ryles is wary of putting expectations on Volkman after he went through the wringer of a bungled move from the Warriors while he was injured.
The 22-year-old is likely to get at least two games at the scrumbase while back-up playmaker Dean Hawkins recovers from a calf issue.
“We’ve taken a slow approach with Ronnie because he missed quite a chunk of footy last year, he wouldn’t have expected to be playing round one, but he gets his chance and we’ve got a lot of confidence in him.
“He’s always had the skills to play NRL, but he’s had a lot of bad luck with injury too. He’s a good kicker of the footy and he’s been working really hard on his defence - we’re confident he’ll handle it and do a good job for us.”
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