Wests Tigers table contract extension as interest in Luke Brooks hots up
As NRL rivals and English clubs circle a rejuvenated Luke Brooks, Wests Tigers have launched a bid in excess of $1m to keep him at Concord.
Brent Read and Michael Carayannis
June 6, 2023 - 3:53PM
The Wests Tigers have officially launched their bid to keep Luke Brooks at the club after tabling a two-year deal worth in
excess of $1 million for the local junior.
Brooks, in the final year of a deal that pays him more than $1 million this season, has been in resurgent form in recent weeks for the Tigers, prompting head coach Tim Sheens and his successor Benji Marshall to come to the party with a new deal that would extend his tenure at the club.
The move to keep Brooks comes as the club steps up a clean-out of its playing ranks.
It is understood Daine Laurie, Shawn Blore, Jake Simpkins and David Nofoaluma are all free to leave at the end of the season, if not earlier.
Laurie has concrete interest from England while Blore has also been pitched to Super League sides.
Brooks was also a target for English giants Leeds but it is understood that he has no interest in moving overseas at this stage of his career.
The Tigers have given him the opportunity to stay in the NRL, although other clubs have also had their interest piqued given the way he has played in recent weeks — Brooks has been a key figure in a Tigers side that has won three of their last five games.
The 28-year-old now has a decision to make. He can stay at the Tigers and play a central role in the revolution taking place under Sheens and Marshall. Or he can head to market and see what options are out there for him in clubland.
Sheens has has spoken glowingly of the off-contract Brooks in recent weeks and has made it known publicly and privately that he wants to keep Brooks at the club long-term.
The Tigers coach wanted that to happen during the club’s recent bye week but the deal was delayed – it is understood the club was still attempting to navigate recent changes that resulted in Scott Fulton being appointed head of recruitment by the board.
The decision to make an offer to Brooks shapes as a victory for Sheens and Marshall, who are believed to have championed his retention. The Tigers had originally planned to make a decision on Brooks after six rounds but the timeline was extended as they waited for some clarity around their salary cap and their pursuit of other halves targets.
The club threw the bank at Mitchell Moses but he elected to stay at Parramatta, rejecting a mega-deal from his former club to stay loyal to the Eels. The Tigers also had a look at Shaun Johnson but he turned them down.
If Brooks does the same, it will be panic stations for the Tigers given it would mean they head into next season with no recognised halves – five-eighth Adam Doueihi is recovering from knee surgery.
Doueihi is likely to miss a large chunk — if not all of — 2024 as he makes his way back from another knee reconstruction. Brandon Wakeham is also off-contract.
The Tigers have missed out on a range of high profile halves in recent months with Johnson the most recent player to knock them back. He joins the likes of Cameron Munster, Moses and Mitchell Pearce to reject the Tigers’ advances.
Outside of keeping Brooks, there is now a dearth of available halves off-contract at the end of the season. They have been linked to Manly’s Josh Schuster- who remains contracted for next season. Schuster is among a group of players who were signed at Manly by Fulton.
Unless they are able to entice a contracted player to join the club, the Tigers might be left to choose from the likes of Matt Frawley, Kyle Flanagan, Adam Clune, Ben Hampton and Drew Hutchison are without deals for next year.
