Simply put, the Eels are in a nosedive without the injured Mitchell Moses, but Cooper Cronk believes Parramatta can attempt to turn their fortunes around by placating to the style of Dylan Brown, who has been shifted to halfback in Moses’ absence.
Moses fractured his foot against Manly in Round 3 and in the two games since, the Eels have lost to the Tigers and Raiders, scoring only 24 points combined.
A natural five-eighth, Brown wore the No. 7 jersey in those two losses and the Eels have lacked direction in attack.
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Cronk believes it’s imperative the Eels coaching staff implement a change of tactics to favour Brown and make his job a little easier.
“I think Dylan Brown has got it. He’s a star and I think he can move between six and seven, but I really think for his development, playing seven is going to help him,” Cronk said on NRL 360.
“However is it going to help the Eels right now? They still play the same style with Mitch Moses out of the side, so I think there needs to be a shift to favour how Dylan Brown prefers to play.
“Ultimately, Mitch Moses will need to be back soon. If he can’t back sooner, they’ll fall out of the eight. They need to win enough games for him to come back or they need to change their style of play because at the moment, they are still trying to play the same way as if Mitch was still there.”
Cronk started his career at the Storm as a utility and played five-eighth before making the successful switch to halfback after two seasons. In fact, in 2004 and 2005, he only played one game in the No. 7 jersey.
The Storm legend then shifted to halfback after Matt Orford departed the club, winning the 2006 Dally M Halfback of the Year award before going on to forge one of the greatest careers in NRL history from a No. 7.
NRL360 co-host Paul Kent put to Cronk how Brown could go about making a successful switch in the meantime until Moses is back.
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“How do you get Dylan to play more like a halfback… and how hard is it to go and start playing in that position even though it’s not a familiar position even though most people at home think there isn’t a lot of difference between six and seven,” Kent asked.
“It’s not easy but the reason why it becomes so difficult to move from a six to a seven is because all of a sudden you’ve got to have control of the game, the context of the game, you got to think about kicking more a few tackles ahead,” Cronk said.
“But then you’ve also got to bring other players into the contest as opposed to just staying on the left hand side where Dylan Brown counts numbers and goes ‘you know what I want the ball. Mitch give me the ball’
“There needs to be growth from Dylan, there’s no doubt about that. But maybe they need a change in terms of getting a ball playing 13 out there a little bit more to help Dylan be two passes wide as opposed to Dylan being a first receiver.
“There’s multiple ways. Look at the Sharks how they play. They play lateral because essentially they had three fullbacks when (Matt) Moylan was there playing so you can manoeuvre your attack around the style of player.”
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If Brown and the Eels attack continue to struggle, coach Brad Arthur could elect to go with a promising halfback in Ethan Sanders.
However, Arthur didn’t seem too keen on the idea immediately after the loss to the Raiders, stating “that’s not going to help us” and instead praising Brown’s performance.
“No, because I thought Dylan was very good tonight,” the Eels coach said when asked if he will consider Sanders.
Sanders hasn’t exactly been knocking the door down in NSW Cup either and has been linked with a move to the Raiders.
The Eels are currently 14th on the ladder with two wins and three losses to their name with a date against the high flying Cowboys awaiting in Round 6.
It’s a long season though and the Eels have plenty of talent in their side.
“Parramatta are capable. They’ve been in the picture for the last few years, a grand final a couple of years,” Kent said.
“They are capable but they have plenty to improve on and Mitch Moses can’t come back soon enough.
“Parramatta are in there and are in the fight.”
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