The Dolphins show interest in Parramatta Eels free agent Dylan Brown - why he’s the perfect fit

Parramatta’s Dylan Brown sent the NRL open market into a frenzy after being shopped to 16 clubs, and the Dolphins - armed with a bulging war chest - have shown interest in the Kiwis Test star.

The Dolphins are weighing up entering the race for Parramatta free agent Dylan Brown.

Brown has officially been placed on the NRL’s open market following a series of emails from his manager Chris Orr.

Orr sent a group email to the head coaches, CEOs, football chiefs and recruitment managers of Parramatta’s 16 rival clubs on Wednesday informing them Brown was seeking interest for season 2026 and beyond.

The Eels five-eighth has a number of clauses in his eight-year contract which runs until 2031 but allows him to quit the club as early as this year.

Incensed that his email found its way into the media, Orr followed up with another shortly after.

“I am disappointed that my actual email to club CEOs/Head of Football/NRL Coaches/Recruitment Managers has been leaked within minutes to the media,” he wrote.

But the advertisement had its desired effect, with a number of clubs now interested in potentially signing the New Zealand Test playmaker.

Dylan Brown sent the player market into a frenzy. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

One of those clubs is the Dolphins, who have been on the lookout for a proven NRL playmaker since their launch in 2023.

The Dolphins recently missed out on the signature of Maroons and Kangaroos star Ben Hunt, who opted for a return to the Broncos instead of a shift to Redcliffe after he was let go by the Dragons.

Hunt met with new Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf as he assessed his options before returning to Queensland.

However the lure of reuniting with his first NRL club was too hard to resist and Hunt opted to sign with the Broncos.

The Broncos and Cowboys are unlikely to make a play for Brown, who is expected to command around $1 million-a-season on the open market.

But the Dolphins have indicated they may be interested and have cash to splash.

Having missed out on Hunt, and underspent on their salary cap during their first two years in the NRL, the Dolphins are a genuine contender.

The halves is an area the Dolphins have struggled to nail since their NRL inception in 2023.

They are settled at fullback with Maroons dynamo Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow while Jeremy Marshall-King is a gun hooker when fit.

Youngster Isaiya Katoa is an outstanding talent and looming as a long-term halfback but still in the infancy of his career.

Journeyman Kodi Nikorima revived his career at the Dolphins under Wayne Bennett but is only contracted until the end of next year.

At 24, Brown is a long-term prospect who has already notched 123 NRL games and eight Tests for New Zealand.

He also featured in Parramatta’s 2022 grand final loss to Penrith in what was a breakout season that earned him the controversial eight-year contract.

A Brown-Katoa combination could lift the Dolphins into NRL premiership contention in the coming years.

CHEESE AND (EELS) WHISPERS

- Tyson Jackson

Injured Sydney Roosters star Brandon Smith has revealed how he was bombarded by calls about him immediately signing with the Parramatta Eels.

The off-contract Smith, who had his first run this week four months after a knee operation, also hopes to have his future sorted by May and was caught on the hop by the Eels rumour.

“This Parramatta rumour went around for all of my family members, everyone of my mates rang,” Smith told James Graham on The Bye Round Podcast.

“I have not spoken to them at all.

“I don’t even know if my manager has.”

After being told by coach Trent Robinson his services were no longer needed at the Roosters, Smith’s management has been on the hunt to find him a new club.

However, while he is hoping to have something sorted within the next four months, the former premiership winner has had no direct talks with potential landing spots.

Brandon Smith will miss at least two months of the season through injury. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“I haven’t had any negotiations but there’s definitely talks going. I would call them negotiations, but there’s definitely talks happening behind the scenes but not involving me,” Smith said.

“Probably May. Yeah, April, May, I’d like to have it properly sorted.

“We will see what happens, you never know who might come, you know. Tom Brady might want me at the NFL.”

Speculation about Smith’s move to the Eels caught wildfire after a club’s fan page announced the transfer online.

Crucially, Smith didn’t completely deny the move.

“I think it was like a Parramatta fan page, like said, ‘It’s official’,” he said.

“The Parramatta fan army, now everything they say is reputable.”

Responding to Smith on the podcast, Graham said a move to the Eels would make sense for Smith, after his soon to be former club signed NSW Blues hooker Reece Robson.

“It’s funny you can draw those links because it’s pretty easy,” Graham said.

“You go, he worked with (new coach Jason) Ryles, you could make a case that Parramatta need a number nine. It’s like, ‘Oh, that’s where he’ll go’.”

Smith was coached by Ryles at both the Storm and the Roosters.

The one criticism of Ryles’ recruitment drive at the Eels has been the lack of an experienced hooker. It has been reported young hooker Ryley Smith has impressed during pre-season.

Originally published as The Dolphins show interest in Parramatta Eels free agent Dylan Brown - why he’s the perfect fit