Dylan Brown (born 21 June 2000) is a New Zealand professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
footballer who plays as a for the
Parramatta Eels in the
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
at international level.
Background
Brown was born in Auckland and grew up in
Whangarei, New Zealand and is of Samoan, Māori and Niuean heritage.
He played his junior rugby league for the Hikurangi Stags.
At age of 15, Brown moved to Sydney, Australia to pursue an
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
career with the
Parramatta Eels. He attended and graduated from
The Hills Sports High School.
Early career
Brown played for Parramatta's
Harold Matthews Cup
The NSWRL Harold Matthews Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales between teams made up of players aged under 16. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). The competition is made up o ...
and
S.G ball squad. In 2017 he led the S.G. Ball Squad to the grand final where they were victorious 30–22 over the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
Later on in the year he went on to debut for the Eels in the under 20s Holden cup team in the middle of the 2017 season, at the age of 17. In 2017, Brown led the
Holden Cup squad to the NYC Grand Final, losing to the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
Brown was then selected in the Australian Schoolboys later in the year at five-eighth, but withdrew from injury.
Playing career
2018
In 2018, Brown started the year with a
Jersey Flegg Cup
The Jersey Flegg Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), and is named for Easter ...
and training on and off with first grade.
Towards the end of the year he debuted for the
Wentworthville Magpies in the
NSW Cup, playing five games.
This led him to being promoted to Parramatta's first grade squad for the 2019 season, re-signing with the club until the end of the
2020 NRL season
The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year.
; Notes
:
:
:
Pre-season
...
.
2019
On 17 March 2019 Brown made his
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
debut in round 1 against the
Penrith Panthers in a 20–12 win.
On 24 March 2019 Brown scored his first NRL try in round 2 against the
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in a 36–16 win.
On 2 April 2019, Brown was ruled out indefinitely after sustaining bone bruising on his back. It was reported that Brown had been suffering with the injury for an extended period and would sit out opposed training sessions to protect himself in order to play in matches.
In Round 15 against
Canberra Raiders, Brown made his long-awaited return from injury as Parramatta came from 16-0 down to win 22–16 at
TIO Stadium
Marrara Oval, currently branded TIO Stadium under a naming rights agreement (and previously also known as Football Park), is a sports ground in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. The ground primarily hosts Australian rules ...
in Darwin.
At the end of the 2019 regular season, Parramatta finished fifth on the table and qualified for the finals. In the elimination final against
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, Brown scored two tries as Parramatta won the match 58–0 at the new
Western Sydney Stadium. The victory was the biggest finals win in history, eclipsing Newtown's 55–7 win over St George in 1944. The match was also Parramatta's biggest win over Brisbane and, at the time, Brisbane's worst ever loss since entering the competition in 1988.
On 3 December 2019, Brown signed a three-year extension, until 2023, with
Parramatta worth $2 million.
2020
In round 2 of the
2020 NRL season
The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year.
; Notes
:
:
:
Pre-season
...
, Brown scored two tries as Parramatta defeated the hapless
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
side 46–6.
In round 16 of the
2020 NRL season
The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year.
; Notes
:
:
:
Pre-season
...
, Brown was taken from the field with an ankle injury during Parramatta's 38–0 loss to
South Sydney Rabbitohs. It was later revealed that Brown would require surgery on his ankle and would be ruled out indefinitely.
2021
In round 9 of the
2021 NRL season
The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year.
Regular season
Ladd ...
, Brown was placed on report after diving over the top of
Sydney Roosters player
Drew Hutchison as he was in the act of scoring a try. Hutchison was rushed to hospital during the game with suspected broken ribs and a punctured lung. Brown was later suspended for three weeks over the incident.
Brown made a total of 21 appearances and scored four tries in Parramatta's
2021 NRL season
The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year.
Regular season
Ladd ...
including the club's two finals matches against
Newcastle and
Penrith.
2022
In round 12 of the
2022 NRL season
The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...
, Brown scored two tries including the winner in a 28-20 victory over
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
.
He made his international debut for
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
against
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
in June.
In round 23, Brown scored two tries for Parramatta in a 42-6 victory over arch-rivals
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
.
Brown played every game for Parramatta throughout 2022 including the clubs
2022 NRL Grand Final loss to
Penrith.
In October Brown was named in the
New Zealand squad for the
2021 Rugby League World Cup
The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received £2 ...
.
On 19 December, Brown re-signed with Parramatta until the end of 2025, with options to extend until 2031.
References
External links
Eels profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Dylan
2000 births
Living people
New Zealand rugby league players
New Zealand national rugby league team players
New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent
Parramatta Eels players
Rugby league five-eighths
Rugby league halfbacks
Rugby league players from Auckland
Wentworthville Magpies players