Dylan Brown faces a sad end to his time at Parramatta after Jason Ryles dumped him from his regular five-eighth position last weekend in a possible sign of things to come.
The rookie head coach explained that his decision was made with an eye on the future, as Joash Papalii was handed the No. 6 jersey against Penrith.
The New Zealand international instead started the game at hooker, wandering out onto the field at CommBank Stadium certainly looking the part, with his head wrapped in tape, if not playing it.
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Dylan Brown facing sad end to his time at the Parramatta Eels
The Kiwi star was used during the opening salvo before retreating to the bench. He stayed there for most of the remainder of the clash before being brought back for the closing stages with the game already long gone.
It marked a stunning fall from grace for the Parra playmaker, who was once viewed as one of the jewels in the club’s crown.
He finished with just one run for five metres to go with his 16 tackles during a virtually anonymous display.
"After taking Brown off and not putting him back on until the last five minutes when the game was lost, I think we know where Dylan Brown stands now," Greg Alexander said on SEN.
"They’ll now shuffle Dylan Brown wherever but his time at the Eels is done in terms of playing at No.6."
Brown has potentially just eight games left in the blue and gold before he departs to Newcastle on a lucrative 10-year deal.
But how he will be used during this final stretch of the season remains a mystery with Ryley Smith returning from suspension in Round 20.
Ryles now has his two best options at dummy-half available to him, with mid-season recruit Tallyn Da Silva set to dovetail with Smith.
Meanwhile, a move to lock also appears to be off the cards with Dylan Walker making the position his own against the Panthers.
J’maine Hopgood was benched for the clash but is likely to retain the No.13 jersey this week for their trip to the nation’s capital to take on the ladder leaders, Canberra.
This leaves Brown as the odd man out as the Eels brace for a future without him while trying to avoid picking up the wooden spoon this season.
"He is not winning Parramatta games and he won’t be there next year," Alexander added.
"Jason Ryles has given him every opportunity because he signed (with the Knights) a long time ago. But he hasn’t done anything to get him a win throughout the season. It’s not been good enough.
"The future is now and Dylan, you are not part of the future."