‘I’m not talking about Dylan Brown’: Adam O’Brien shuts down any questions about his record-breaking signing
Dylan Brown spoke for more than 11 minutes about his impending move to the Knights, but his coach next year was in no mood to answer questions.
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Newcastle Knights coach Adam O’Brien has shut down questions about the club’s decision to sign Dylan Brown on a record-breaking deal for the next decade and what role the Parramatta playmaker may play.
Brown will head to Newcastle in 2026 on a deal worth a reported $14m over the next 10 seasons, making it the richest contract in NRL history.
He’ll partner superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga and will ideally provide some much-needed stability at halfback given the Knights churned through a number of playmakers in 2024 but couldn’t land on a pairing they liked.
Jack Cogger and Fletcher Sharpe helped them to a narrow win over the Wests Tigers last week, and the belief is that Brown will shift to halfback to partner Sharpe, who is a running five-eighth.
O’Brien hasn’t been thrilled with questions about his playmakers this year, and that didn’t change on Wednesday, with the Knights coach not offering much when quizzed about the contract.
The deal hasn’t been formally announced given there is a cooling-off period, but Brown made it clear to media on Wednesday that he was heading north next year to provide financial security for his family.
“I’m not talking about Dylan Brown,” O’Brien said.
“I’m willing to talk about the Dolphins or round 1.
“The Dylan Brown situation has got a process to go through and I reckon I’ll respect that process.”
He was pressed on the issue again but doubled down on his previous response.
“I’ll find a different way to give you the same answer,” he responded.
“There will come a time and place to talk about Dylan, but right now, I’m focused on tomorrow night with the halves that we have there.”
Originally published as ‘I’m not talking about Dylan Brown’: Adam O’Brien shuts down any questions about his record-breaking signing
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