‘I enjoyed that one’: Dylan Brown all smiles after Eels end Panthers streak

Friday night’s game was one to remember for Dylan Brown, who returned to the halves and helped steer Parramatta to victory.

Brown is back in the halves and the Eels are back in the winners circle. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Electrifying Eels five-eighth Dylan Brown jokingly ranked Friday’s victory over the Panthers as one of the top 50 wins in his career as he made his much-publicised return to the halves to knock off the unbeaten premiers.

This was only the 42nd win of his young NRL career, and while he won’t admit it, it’s probably in the top two or three, along with Parramatta’s other massive upset win in Melbourne earlier this season.

Watch every game of Magic Round this weekend Live & Ad-Break Free In Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >

“It was really good. I enjoyed that one. I think it’s just beating Penrith. It’s f***ing mad, I love it,” the fired-up playmaker said after the 22-20 win in enemy territory that snapped Penrith’s 21-game winning streak at BlueBet Stadium.

Brown in action against Penrith. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

It was the sort of win the blue and golds needed after a testing week on and off the field that saw them smashed by the Cowboys in Darwin.

In the wake of the 35-4 defeat, Eels coach Brad Arthur copped some heated criticism from fans for shifting Brown to left centre for the second week in a row to allow his son Jake to play in the halves.

But Brown defended the move and said coach Arthur had checked with everyone before he switched things up to accommodate Parramatta’s injury crisis in the outside backs.

“Brad’s not someone who’s just going to throw something out there,” Brown said.

“He’s obviously going to check if you’re comfortable. I told him that it was what was best for the team. It was his son so it was going to be hard to make the decision, but we backed him and we all went along with it as a team.

“People were abusing Brad and his son, but it’s nothing to do with him. It’s all to do with the situation we’re in. We all back Jakey and he’s a very good player, and same with Brad. We all made that decision so it’s not just Brad.

“I was happy to go to the centres and I told him that, so that’s where he put me. I’m back in the halves now and Jakey is back in reserve grade carving up.

“Centre’s obviously not my position so it’s obviously going to be hard to play out of position. I had to do it for two weeks but I’m back and I’m happy.”

The Eels have now defeated both Penrith and Melbourne this season. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Brown and his teammates certainly looked happy when he crossed for what turned out to be the matchwinning try on a fiery Friday night in Sydney’s golden west.

This was a statement win by a team that knows it can go toe-to-toe with the competition heavyweights. Now, the challenge is making sure they bring that same energy when they play the teams they’re expected to beat.

The Panthers had won their first eight games but the Eels ensured the streak wouldn’t stretch to nine. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Brown said that was the major issue against the Cowboys, conceding they probably took the team from North Queensland too lightly. He says that won’t happen at Magic Round when they play the Roosters in Brisbane.

“It’s going into a game not being too cocky and too confident and not going in with that mindset that ‘it’s just this team or it’s just that team’,” he said.

“Every team is capable of putting on a performance now so it’s up to ourselves. We need to come to these games with the right attitude, and if we don’t, we’re going to lose.

“We know what we’re capable of, and tonight just proved it. We’re a good team and we just need to back ourselves.”