NRL 2021: Teammates voice their support for Nathan Brown to stay at Eels after massive Manly offer
He might not say a lot, but Parramatta teammates are hoping much-loved enforcer Nathan Brown listens to them as northern beaches rival Manly circles the star Eel.
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Two of Parramatta’s biggest stars are hoping Nathan Brown knocks back a big money offer from Manly as the powerhouse Western Sydney club builds towards premiership glory.
As revealed in The Sunday Telegraph, Brown, who is off contract at the end of the season, has been offered a lucrative deal to switch to northern beaches rival, the Sea Eagles in 2022.
It’s believed the Eels have already tabled a two-year deal worth around $600,000 a season but Brown is yet to accept the offer.
Rising playmaker Dylan Brown told The Daily Telegraph that the enforcer is a crucial cog in the Eels’ desperate bid to break the club’s 35-year title drought.
“We want him here 100 per cent,” Brown said.
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“Hopefully he doesn’t go anywhere soon because we need to stick with the same boys for as long as possible at the club.
“We love Browny and he’s the one player that brings the aggression.
“You saw it on the weekend [against Brisbane], he knows how to shoot up and take a hit and change momentum [of the game] just like that.”
The 28-year-old has played 93 games for the Eels after joining the club from Souths in 2017 and has cemented his role as the side’s hardman in the middle.
Brown was limited to 28 games over the 2018 and 2019 seasons after suffering a serious ankle injury and then a pectoral injury in that time.
But a fit and healthy Brown returned to his best last season, when the lock averaged just under 160m a game. NSW coach Brad Fittler rewarded Brown’s club form with selection in the Blues in last year’s State of Origin series.
While Clint Gutherson does not want to see Brown leave the club, the skipper is backing the forward to make the right decision.
“We would love to see Browny stay,” he said. “It has nothing to do with me … Whatever happens, I’m sure Browny is doing the right thing for him and so is the club.”
On the field, Brown has forged a reputation for being a hard-running and aggressive leader of the Eels pack. But off the field, Brown is a man of very few words.
Gutherson isn’t expecting the contract negotiations to have an impact on Brown and is expecting the forward to let “his footy do the talking”.
“It’s not definitely not going to affect Browny, he’s the type of person that will just cruise on through and I think he is going to let his footy do the talking,” Gutherson said.
“The better he plays, it’s going to help us and it’s going to help him.”
Five-eighth Brown not only echoed Gutherson’s sentiments but also labelled the Five Dock junior as the ‘unsung hero’ in an Eels pack boasting names like Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard.
“He’s a quiet guy so he probably doesn’t get the raps he deserves,” Brown said.
“But he is definitely a quiet leader. He leads with his actions.
“Junior [Paulo] has the halfback side to him, Reg [Campbell-Gillard] is really tough but Browny out of all of them is the toughest.”
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