Lost Titan: Utility Riley Brown reflects on his NRL career and time on the Gold Coast

Getting cut by veteran NRL coach Brian Smith not once but twice is what led Riley Brown to a two-year stint on the Gold Coast.

GETTING cut by veteran NRL coach Brian Smith not once but twice is what led Riley Brown to a two-year stint on the Gold Coast.

Born in Bundaberg and raised in Singleton, Brown was blooded in first grade by the Knights as a 19-year-old.

Predominantly a centre or five-eighth in juniors, he was converted into a hooker/utility with the help of Newcastle legend Danny Buderus.

Four years and 40 games later – many of which were alongside the likes of Buderus, Andrew Johns and Steve Simpson – he was forced out when Smith opted for a roster clean-out.

Riley Brown tries to evade the tackle of Broncos legend Darren Lockyer.

He found a home at the Roosters and immediately enjoyed a breakout 2008 season, featuring in 21 games before breaking his arm in a play-offs loss to the Broncos.

All momentum he had worked so hard to gain was quickly lost.

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“It was quite a severe fracture; I had a metal plate installed,” Brown recalled.

“Through the pre-season it took some time to heal and the following year my first pre-season game I refractured it again just at the end of the plate.

“The surgeons had a chat and thought it was best that I removed the plate so I had another surgery … I tried to come back too early and re-broke it again.”

Brown moved to the Titans after his time at Sydney.

Finally, he made it out for the club’s last six games of 2009 before a familiar foe struck again.

“Brian Smith came to the Roosters from the Knights and he moved me on again,” he said.

Roosters teammates Mark O’Meley and Craig Fitzgibbon were headed to Hull FC and the English Super League club were on the lookout for a hooker but he instead chose to continue his career at the Titans, where he would play nine games across the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

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The presence of workhorse rake Nathan Friend made opportunities tough to come by for Brown, who often found himself with feeder club Burleigh.

Riley Brown and Samara Fidden in 2011.

“I definitely don’t regret it. We had a great time there, that’s for sure,” the now 34-year-old said.

“We lived at Broadbeach Waters on the canal and (John) Cartwright was the coach.

“He was a great coach and just a great bloke in general and we had the likes of Preston Campbell and Scotty Prince there who were great guys to play with.”

Two of his three wins in Titans colours were by a single point, including a memorable 23-22 win in Canberra that was decided by a Greg Bird field goal.

Brown playing for Cessnock in 2013.

“We were massive underdogs … that was a great day, a great win,” Brown said.

His return to the Newcastle region following the 2011 season was sparked by his partner Samara Fidden’s diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma cancer.

She survived and now is pregnant with the couple’s third child.

Brown, a Broncos fan, took up a job in the coal mines and played on for four more years with the Cessnock Goannas before hanging up the boots.