League: 'Leaving Warriors saved my career' - Brown

Lewis Brown. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwis utility Lewis Brown says leaving the Warriors probably rescued his international career.

Brown will come off the interchange bench for the third test in Wigan on Saturday (Sunday NZT), and has played a similar role for the Kiwis over the last 12 months.

His frank view is not a slight on the Auckland club - though it may come across as one - but more of a honest indication of the state of his game and mindset a few years ago.

Brown first came into the Kiwis squad for the 2010 Four Nations tournament in England. It was a great story, as he had struggled to make the grade at both the Roosters and the Tigers before finding his feet at Mt Smart.

He made his Kiwis debut in the 2011 Anzac test - setting up a try for Matt Duffie with a strong run - and starting all three games at the 2011 Tri Nations tournament. And then he disappeared from the international scene. It was partly because of all the young talent has emerged recently, but also due to Brown's game going south.

"There was a time when I thought my international chances were gone," admitted Brown.

"My Kiwis ambitions were there but I thought I probably wasn't going to get called back in. It took for me to move away from the Warriors to get that going again. It was the turning point. If I had stayed at the Warriors I was a bit too comfortable there [and] I might have ended up in the Super League by now."

After the highs of the 2011 season - four test matches and a grand final - Brown plateaued in 2012, along with the Warriors. There were plenty of other circumstances at Mt Smart (injuries, transition from Ivan Cleary) but Brown didn't pull his weight and that is one of his greatest regrets.

"I'm really disappointed the way I finished there," said Brown. "The Warriors gave me a shot and I didn't finish well. The fans voiced their opinions about that and after that I missed out on the Kiwis for a couple of years and went into the wilderness.

With hindsight, Brown says he lost his passion for the sport and started taking the NRL for granted.

"I had a lot of friends around and didn't know how to separate my footy life from my social life," said Brown. "When you don't know how to divide the two, you start taking things for granted off the field. I needed to realise I was living the dream."

Brown revitalized his career at the Panthers, and was one of the mainstays behind their drive to a preliminary final last year. That form saw him selected for the 2014 Four Nations, where he appeared in both wins over Australia.

It remains a big ask to make this Kiwis side, but Brown will always be a hard player to leave out. He's one of the most versatile players in the squad and always delivers a solid, no-frills performance, epitomized by his display at the Olympic Stadium last week.

He made a crucial, try-saving tackle on a rampaging Tom Burgess just before halftime, and his time on the field allowed Issac Luke a prolonged spell off it, allowing the co-captain to rediscover his best form, after fading badly in the first test the week before.

The 29-year-old is typecast as a utility - he's played centre, second row and hooker for the Kiwis and could fill other positions but accepts the reality of his situation.

"Being a utility is probably what gets me in these teams, especially on tours," said Brown. "I like to play in the back row but I will just about play anywhere, whether I need to play nine or give Issac [Luke] a rest. I've always been a team player and will put them first, even if just play 15 minutes."

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