Nathan Brown’s Parramatta teammates have urged him not to curb his trademark aggression despite apologising to them for his brain snap which cost him a fortnight on the NRL sidelines.
The firebrand Eels lock will not play before the finals after being suspended for two weeks for his vicious shoulder charge on Dallin Watene-Zelezniak during last week’s shock loss to Canterbury.
Brown spent 10 minutes on the sideline at a vital point during the second-half of the 12-6 loss which dealt a hammer blow to their top four hopes and will miss their key match-ups against Brisbane and Manly.
He has been quick to take ownership of his actions, taking to Instagram to post a comical video of himself being admonished by his grandmother. He apologised to the playing group after the game.
“He just said that he was sorry and he let the boys down … That’s part of footy and we love his aggression but he’s probably done it at the wrong time,” hooker Reed Mahoney said.
“We have to deal with it.”
Brown will be sorely missed during Friday’s match against the eighth-placed Broncos and will be replaced by Marata Niukore in the No.13 jersey.
Throughout his career he has sometimes tread a fine line between aggression and recklessness, with Dogs coach Dean Pay accusing him of attempting to put a shot on his players on several occasions last Thursday.
But Mahoney said he didn’t want to see him lose his aggression and passion.
“It’s just about being a bit smarter given the time and where we were on the field,” Mahoney said.
“He knew exactly what he was trying to do. He was just trying to spark the team as he does all the time. He just got the guy in the wrong position.”
Eels front-rower Junior Paulo added: “He mentioned (that he thought he let the team down) but as a playing group we just have to squash it and move on.
“We know where it’s landed now but we don’t want Brownie to go away from that because he brings aggression into our team and that sort of aggression can lift a pack. We know the importance of having him.”