Knights-bound Dylan Brown defended by Jason Ryles after Eels fans' booing
Parramatta coach Jason Ryles defended the Newcastle-bound Dylan Brown after the star playmaker was booed by Eels fans ahead of Sunday's match.
Brown copped a cold-hearted pre-game reception after it was confirmed in the past week that he'd be joining the Knights at season's end on a 10-year deal said to be worth up to $14 million.
At CommBank Stadium, Parramatta's line-up was announced for a clash with Wests Tigers and the Kiwi international's image appeared on the big screen, prompting Eels fans to unleash.
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Ryles was asked what he thought of the harsh reception following a 32-6 defeat.
"Was there [booing]? I can't hear it up there; it's pretty soundproof," Ryles said.
"What do I make of that? That's footy.
"That's just emotional fans. They're passionate and potentially that's the way they feel, but it doesn't change how we think of him."
Dylan Brown runs the ball in the Eels' clash with Wests Tigers. Getty
The Tigers' halves, Jarome Luai and Lachlan Galvin, combined superbly as Benji Marshall's men rollicked to their first win of the season.
On the other hand, Brown and his halves partner, train-and-trialist Ronald Volkman, struggled for impact.
But Ryles erred away from criticising his star five-eighth.
"He was steady. He's improved on last week. We're still working on some things with Dylan and his game," Ryles said.
"... There's a lot happening around him, and he needs some things around him to go well so that he can help himself go well ... There's little parts of his game I'm sure he'd like to work on, but there's a lot happening around him [that needs to be sorted out] before we can critique his performance too much."
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The Eels' 32-6 loss to the Tigers followed a 56-18 defeat to the Storm in round one, further muddying Ryles' first season as an NRL head coach.
"Super disappointed," he said of the Tigers loss.
"It probably doesn't look like it but there's a lot of good signs there in regards to some individuals.
"Some parts of the game we're working on, but we just have lapses in concentration and we need to work quite hard on our edge defence still ... My initial emotions are very disappointed."
