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Eels duo Nathan Brown and Kenny Edwards walk the line on the field — and Parra love them for it
THEY are the Parramatta Powderkegs — two players that live to intimidate and menace opposition players.
And they clearly love their work.
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur will be relying on Eels forwards Nathan Brown and Kenny Edwards to negotiate that fine line between aggression and discipline in Saturday night’s sudden-death semi-final against the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium.
Brown and Edwards have each found trouble on the field yet both refuse to rid themselves of the trait which makes them so feared — combativeness.
This fine line both players choose to tread could be the difference between advancing to the preliminary final against the Roosters or winning and losing.
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Brown and Edwards are more than happy to walk the line. Picture: Brett Costello
Brown is the most penalised Eels player, having conceded 16 penalties. Edwards is Parramatta’s third-most penalised player with 13.
Conversely, Brown is averaging a stellar 31 tackles each game, Edwards has completed 30 tackle busts.
Speaking with The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, Brown and Edwards agreed they wanted to remain forceful yet controlled.
That is their challenge.
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“I’m an aggressive player, 100 per cent. I like to play the game as hard as I can,” Edwards said. “If I can put someone off their game, I will try and do it.
“Trying to find that line (between aggression and discipline) is something I have worked on over the past few weeks.
“When you do play the game hard, it’s hard to control sometimes. Sometimes I let my discipline get the better of me. But I have to watch my discipline especially against a side this weekend which prides itself on discipline.
“Over the last few weeks, I have tried to bring energy and keep my discipline. That is part of my job. It’s what I bring to the team, energy.
“My job is to try and lift the boys when I can. We play well when our discipline is strong. My game has to be disciplined more than anything this weekend.”
Brown has also endured some tough times. He was described in the media last year as a “grub.”
“Everyone is going to have their own opinion but you don’t want to be known as that sort of player,” Brown said.
“You want to be known as a tough, aggressive player, not known as those things they said.
“You have to learn from it but you can’t take it on board otherwise it can affect your game. All that is in the past now. Moving forward, I just want to be professional.”
And the robust lock has certainly turned around his discipline and public image.
“This year I’ve been really good,” Brown said. “The experience we got from last week (against Melbourne) was huge for us.”"
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...t/news-story/985ab0e51adcdba26da844c4194dbb25
