If Parramatta sensation Dylan Brown ends up jumping ship to Newcastle at the end of the season, Knights coach Adam O’Brien should send
Eels legend Brett Kenny a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne.
Kenny no doubt meant well this week when he weighed in on the Brown contract saga, but all he did was provide the Knights with more ammunition as they look to convince the classy Eels half to explore his options elsewhere.
Kenny took umbrage at suggestions Brown was looking for $1.2 million a season to change clubs. Brown, mind you, has never commented on what he wants or expects from the Eels or rival clubs.
He has left the negotiations in the hands of his management, whose sole motivation is to source a better deal for their client. Their loyalty is to Brown, not the Eels.
Nevertheless, Kenny claimed the New Zealand international wasn’t worth the money that was apparently being asked. Which is all well and good, except Kenny is an Eels legend and too often in the recent past, club legends have taken aim at the club and their players.
It’s something that irked former coach Brad Arthur and new coach Jason Ryles has tried to stop by opening the doors to those who dug the well. All Ryles and the Eels expect in return is for those same legends to keep their nose out of club business.
Or at least not weigh into it publicly with daming commentary. Kenny did just that at a sensitive time in negotiations with Brown. The Knights are cashed up and have made it clear that if Brown is to join them, he will be protected from the sort of public criticism that Kenny dished out this week.
Kenny couldn’t help himself. The Knights were doing cartwheels.