It hasn’t been a good month for anyone called Nathan Brown in the NRL.
A week after the Warriors ended Nathan Brown’s tenure as coach, Parramatta have given their former NSW Origin forward of the same name permission to negotiate with rival NRL clubs, even though he has 18 months left to run on his contract.
The Eels informed Brown this week they could not guarantee there would be space for him under the club’s tight salary cap beyond 2023.
Parramatta already have big money tied up in Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Mitch Moses, Clint Gutherson and Junior Paulo, all signed to long-term deals.
Brown was left competing with the likes of Dylan Brown, Maika Sivo and Will Penisini for salary cap space that remains from 2024, while the club is also battling to retain Ryan Matterson beyond this season.
Coach Brad Arthur said it was a shame the lock forward had to slip through the cracks.
“We’ve worked hard to put a squad together but we’re not the only club,” Arthur said.
Nathan Brown (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
“There’s no, he wants to go, we’re trying to push him out, or any of that. He’s just trying to secure his future past 2023. It’s just what it is.
“It’s not a sport anymore, it’s a business.”
Arthur confirmed Brown had been dropped for Saturday’s clash with the Sydney Roosters on the basis of form.
“That’s got nothing to do with this (contract) situation, there’s just a couple of things that I want him to be able to do,” Arthur said.
“He’s taken it well, he’s going to be professional and he’s going to go out there and help lead the NSW Cup boys around.”
Arthur did not rule out the possibility that more players who featured in Monday’s dismal 34-4 loss to the 15th-placed Bulldogs could join Brown in reserve grade.
“There may be a couple of changes come Saturday but we’ve got to get through training,” he said.
State of Origin players Paulo, Ryan Matterson and Campbell-Gillard all played on Monday and Arthur said the trio pulled up fine this week despite the short turnaround.
While there has been speculation Matterson and Campbell-Gillard could be dropped by NSW for the second game of the Origin series, Arthur threw his support behind the pair.
“I know what those players bring and how good they are for our team,” he said.
“The NSW team lost by a try. It wasn’t as if there were too many dramas there and I don’t think our boys did too much wrong either.”
Arthur said his side had undertaken a “pretty confronting” review of the Bulldogs loss but that alarm bells weren’t ringing just yet.
“It’s one loss,” he said.
“We can be honest about how embarrassing our performance was but then once we deal with it, we need to move on.”
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Dutski
Roar Guru
Come to the chooks mate! Suluka-Fifita and Taukeaho are leaving and we need someone to starch up the middle.
:laughing: Agreed. Good ol 80's movies...
Bonza
Roar Rookie
and the girl that Arnold basically kidnapped had no problems with him flinging someone off a cliff. She must have dated some real problem cases. Or just attracted to psychopaths.
:laughing: Yes! Scully was his name! “I let him go” after flipping over the yellow Porsche
Censored Often
Roar Rookie
He's far from the only one that should be shown the day after such a gutless performance.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
:laughing:
Bonza
Roar Rookie
Dangling a guy by the ankles over a cliff: (Scully, I think it was) "Remember I said I'd kill you last? I lied"
Hahaha where's Sonny ..."I let him go" Classic.
kk
Roar Pro
Nathan played to his limits and did it with courage. I hope he signs with a quality club in the North of England.
Bonza
Roar Rookie
I went to school with another doomed Nathan Brown. He was happily employed at a major bank as far as I know. Was....
Panthers
Guest
Brown might be a good pick up for the Panthers next season, if he’s cheap enough? A few players have revived their fortunes going to Penrith in recent years. Such as Capewell, Sorenson, Robert Jennings. Another couple of cheap targets for them could be Harawirra-Neara ( former Panther ) , who’s dropped down the pecking order at the Raiders. Corey Waddell ( former Panther ) , who was an up & coming star player at Penrith & not quite lived up to that. As the Bulldogs may again offload some players at the end of the season, he’s probably one of them.
Tez
Roar Rookie
and at the Dragons
Dumbo
Roar Rookie
Born in March 1993, so he is 29. By the end of the 2023 season he will 30 and a half. He is a forward - and at that age he should be thinking of giving the game away. He is on $580K per year (according to Zero Tackle). Will he get anything like that anywhere else? Does he want the aggravation of moving to the Gold Coast or Auckland or Canberra (say)? In his position, I'd tell the coach "Very kind of you to think of me, but I'll be staying until the end of 2023". Who knows what will happen 18 months down the track. Somebody (including the Eels) may offer him a 12 month deal for 2024.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
What made '87 preseason any more hopeful than every pre-season since? History shows the window closed after the lap of honour GF day 1986.
Albo
Roar Rookie
He hasn't been at his best for a while now ! :crying:
Chuck
Guest
Arnie was the "Governator", governor of Calif., a Republican Governor, which means he identified as a Republican, which means in Hollywood he was lucky to have a job let alone win an Oscar. THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT! Just giving context. And yes, i reckon he deserved an Oscar. As for N Brown, like the man said, it's a business. Salary caps affect squads. Another club will pick him up i'm sure.
matth
Roar Guru
“I let him go” … off a cliff
matth
Roar Guru
Nah 87, they still had hope during the pre season :stoked:
matth
Roar Guru
They lost their keys in 1987 unfortunately.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
I thought it closed in 1986.