BY STAFF WRITERS
Premiership-winning Newcastle Knights legend and former five-eighth Matthew Johns has some serious concerns after it was reported Parramatta number six Dylan Brown had agreed to a whopping deal to leave the Eels and join the Novocastrians.
According to reports, Brown has signed a ten-year deal worth upwards of $14 million, the biggest deal in NRL history.
The Knights are desperately searching for their first title since 2001.
They currently boast superstar Kalyn Ponga who is currently on about $1.4 million a season and contracted until the end of 2027.
But Newcastle is searching for the playmaking solution and have gone through many halves combinations.
Johns – who won the premiership alongside brother Andrew in 1997 – says Brown may not be the right fit for that amount of money in the Hunter city.
“This is not a criticism… this is just a fact,” Johns began on his Fox League show Matty and Cronk, “He’s a six.”
“We’ve already spoken about the difference between a six and a seven.
“Dylan can impact a game heavily [and] he can have a big impact on a game but to do that, he needs someone alongside him to control the game.
“That’s what he needs. Dylan is an explosive player, he impacts the game through moments. He’s not a seven, he’s a six.
“Dylan’s game is the game of a deputy.
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“Which most sixes are – they are deputies.
“At the moment, he’s a reactive player, he’s a deputy, he’s a pure six.
“Hell of a six. Very good six. But he ain’t a seven.”
There has been rumours Ponga could be on the move to an early release to link up with NZRU and the All Blacks.
If he was to stay at the Knights – Ponga and Brown’s contracts will take upwards of almost $3 million out of their salary cap for the next two seasons.