Nathan Brown set to bolster Eels stocks for Sharks showdown

The influential Parramatta forward was initially slated for a round 14 comeback but is on track to take the field for Saturday’s crunch clash with Cronulla.

• Raiders fume over eye-gouge double standards
• Bulldogs boost roster with Storm recruit

Parramatta will welcome the return of influential forward Nathan Brown this week as Michael Jennings slams the “attitude” of his side which has coincided with a dramatic loss of form over the last month.

Brown has been sidelined since round one after he suffered a pectoral injury against the Penrith Panthers.

The 26-year old required surgery to repair the injury but returned to contact training last week. He was initially slated for a round 14 return.

Fellow forward David Gower told The Daily Telegraph that Brown needed to get through Wednesday’s contact session before getting the final all clear to line-up against Cronulla on Saturday night.

“He’s got to pass a few more tests this week, but if he passes everything I think he’s a chance to play. It’s been 12 weeks post op and that’s roughly when he came back from his last pectoral injury. He just needs to pass the contact side of things on Wednesday,” he said.

Nathan Brown suffered a pectoral injury against the Penrith Panthers in Round One. Picture: Getty Images

The Eels returned to the winner’s circle last week with a 24-16 win over South Sydney but veteran centre Jennings accused the side of letting standards slip recently.

Friday night’s victory over the Rabbitohs broke a three-game losing streak which included a 64-10 thrashing at the hands of the Melbourne Storm.

“We’ve been complacent with stuff even at training. I guess it’s an attitude thing. We’ve got a few young fellas … our leadership and our older fellas need to step up and really lead the boys … it’s got to be week in week out and we haven’t been doing that. That’s pretty ordinary,” Jennings said.

Jennings’ comments came after coach Brad Arthur wielded the axe in the lead-up to last week’s game, which included the dumping of club veteran and co-captain Tim Mannah.

Jennings also said the Eels were guilty of falling into the trap of believing the ‘hype’ received in the opening rounds of the season.

“The boys always put in, the effort is always there (at training), it’s just transferring that onto the field and being complacent in that area. We think we are going well and get caught up in the off-field noise and listen to all the hype that’s talked about us. We can get caught up in that sometimes,” he said.

Nathan Brown needs to get through a contact session to get the all-clear for his return. Picture: Getty Images

But Jennings has backed his side to turn the corner and to solidify the Eels’ spot in the top eight stop over the coming weeks.

“It was a relief (to win on Friday). There was a lot of pressure after three straight losses. We needed to bounce back. It was a good way to come back, it was a good win. We have a big four weeks for us going into the bye so we are looking to string some wins together,” he said.

Meanwhile, Brown’s namesake Dylan Brown is still being eased back on to the training paddock. The young playmaker succumbed to stress fractures in his lower back earlier this year and hasn’t played a game since round three.

“He’s been stepping up his involvement on the field, but not so much the contact side of things yet. He’s running again and building that base level of fitness. It’s progression thing, they (coaching staff) just need to up his load week on week and see how he responds,” Gower said.