‘Take the bull by the horns’: Andrew Johns feels sorry for Dylan Brown as pressure builds ahead of contract deadline

Former Eels skipper Tim Mannah has urged five-eighth Dylan Brown to “take the bull by the horns” and lead the team while Mitchell Moses is out injured amid speculation the Knights are ready to break the bank to sign him for the rest of his career.

Brown finished with three assists in the ugly 56-18 loss to Melbourne on Sunday afternoon, but those tries came when the game was already over on what was a shocking start to life under Jason Ryles.

Moses will miss at least the next month as he continues to recover from a left foot injury, with Mannah wanting to see more from Brown, who was outplayed by fill-in halfback Ronald Volkman in the first half.

Former Penrith Panthers player Taylan May is facing a hearing over allegations he punched a woman during a domestic violence incident.

“It’s a really good opportunity for Dylan to step up and show how good he is and how he can control a team,” Mannah told Mornings with Matt White on SEN.

“Yesterday’s environment was hard for a half to shine, but I think he’s got to take the bull by the horns over these next few weeks without Mitchell there and own the team.

“I thought Volkman did a lot of the controlling early in the game with his kicking, but that’s where Dylan really needs to step up and be the senior person in that combination and own that.”

Mannah’s comments came a day after Immortal Andrew Johns questioned whether Brown was ready to step up as a chief playmaker at his old club the Knights who are reportedly willing to pay him $13m over the next 10 years.

“Potentially yes (he’s worth it) because he’s an amazing player,” Johns said on the Sunday Footy Show, unhappy with the pressure placed on Brown by his manager.

“But can he be a halfback steering a team around? The question marks are there.

“I’ve helped Dylan in his career. Can he wear the No.7 and push a team around the park? I don’t know.

“The next six weeks, he’s in an audition and we’re going to see it. He’s under all sorts of pressure with how he handles that.”

The Eels need a lot more than just Brown to step up after they were smashed off the park by the Storm who led 46-6 at halftime.

Parramatta’s defence was unacceptable for a round 1 match, but Mannah isn’t ready to push the panic button just yet despite bookmakers making the Eels the new wooden spoon favourites.

“I want to put it down to more of a case of Melbourne being untouchable,” he said, pleased that Parramatta at least won the second half.

“You watch Melbourne in that first half, and yes there were some poor defensive efforts by Parramatta, but the reality is Melbourne were in a zone where anything that they did turned into gold,” Mannah said.

“I’m going to reserve my right to criticise any teams this early in the year, especially against a team like Melbourne when they were on fire.

“That said, no one wants to lose with a score like that, especially in round 1.

“It’s really frustrating because round 1 is when you get to show your fans and all your stakeholders how good your off-season has been.

“Everyone has ripped in, everyone has had those big summer days, so to come out in round 1 and get your pants pulled down … is not the way you want to start a year.”