Kieran Foran has declared that Dylan Brown can be “the best No.6 in the world” after the Newcastle-bound playmaker staked his claim as a genuine Golden Boot chance with three starring performances to help New Zealand win the Pacific Championships.

Brown enters 2026 as one of the most scrutinised players in the game as he prepares to begin a record 10-year deal worth $13m after he agreed to leave the Eels for the Knights.

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Foran spent 16 years as one of the toughest playmakers in rugby league, but he’s backing his Kiwis halves partner to go to new heights in the Hunter where he’s expected to play halfback.

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Brown was dropped to reserve grade at one stage this year and returned at centre for the Eels, but he looked like the best player in the world on Sunday with three try assists, 169m and nine tackle busts in the comeback win over Samoa who couldn’t handle his explosive running game.

“We all know what sort of player Dylan Brown is. I think he can be the best No.6 in the world, I think the sky’s the limit for him,” Foran said.

“This is a guy that’s 25. He’s played a hell of a lot of footy in a short amount of time. Yeah, he faced some adversity this year with making the big move to Newcastle, and things at Parramatta there weren’t travelling as smoothly.

“But I said it all along, when I watched him come into camp day one, he looked in impeccable shape.

“He was as fit as I’ve ever seen him look, and I just thought that this bloke’s on. He’s going to come in and prove a point, and he did that. He was arguably our best player throughout the three games.”

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Foran dealt with plenty of scrutiny when he left Manly to join Parramatta in 2016 in a move that didn’t go to plan, but he hasn’t felt the need to discuss with Brown what might be coming his way next year when his salary gets used against him whenever something goes wrong.

But after three man-of-the-match performances from as many games this post-season, the Golden Boot favourite may not need much advice as he takes control of a team that finished last and struggled to score points.

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Dylan Brown joins Newcastle in outstanding form. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

“I haven’t, and Dyl’s a different personality to me. He’s very laid-back, he’s very cruisy. I’m probably a bit more of a deep thinker and an intense character,” he said.

“Observing Dyl, he doesn’t look like he overthinks his footy, and I think that’s what makes him a great player. I think he’ll be unfazed by the pressure that he’s going to feel at Newcastle.

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“If he’s fit and he’s playing his game, forget about it. If the guys can do their job around him, as you saw with this campaign, get him playing off the front foot, playing off quick play the balls, is there a better running six at the moment? I don’t know about that.”

An emotional Foran won’t have to worry about trying to stop Brown in the NRL anymore after his glittering career came to a close on Sunday 16 years after he made his debut for Manly.

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Kieran Foran celebrates his final game with a win for New Zealand. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

“It started to build on me. I could see my family in the crowd, I was looking at my wife. It was just a whole journey,” he said, with Foran beginning his new role as an assistant at Manly on Monday morning.

“I’ve been asked a few times ‘do you think you could have gone round again?’ But no, it’s taken so much out of me to get through this year. And people might not see that from the outside, but getting through the weeks has become incredibly hard.

“I don’t have that same oomph that I once had in my run. Yeah, I’m quick-witted between the ears, and I can see the game well. But the young guys I’m playing alongside now, they’re so explosive, they’re so strong. And you just feel that little bit of that pace that they’re at.

“The timing’s right. I know it’s right.”