Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

earl said:
Nah - he was copping it and it was ridiculously stupid and I bet he decided it's not worth being a scapegoat especially on a cut price contract.

It's a big loss for us but I don't blame him.
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I'm sorry Earl but very few Tigers fans believe that is true.

I personally think Brooks could find a decent position at a better club with a better roster. I always thought he would be a natural bargain-buy for Melbourne Storm, and do well amongst guys like Munster and Grant. But in theory, such a move would have the new club paying Brooks a middle-range (Chad Townsend-like) salary and not a top-tier (DCE-like) salary.

The rationale is that Luke Brooks has had 10 years and 200 games at Tigers, mostly at marquee player rates. Overall he hasn't played to that level. Sometimes he has. It is very possible that another club with better support could help Brooks reach his peak more often. But I don't think such a club can afford to also pay Brooks a top-tier salary.

The reality is, if you want to pull one of the elite salaries, you are going to have to play with some mugs, because your salary affects the cap. As good as the Roosters line-up is, for example, they rely very heavily on Tedesco and he has to play at the level of a $1M player, otherwise it hurts the entire team.
 
Coastie_Tiger said:
Yep i agree Marshall or Farah are never mentioned, i think the failure of McDonell to get Moses was the final nail in the coffin for him. I would not be surprised in the slightest if Sheens moves aside for Benji and Robbie next season. I think Benji is and was well aware of what was going on in the background and this could be where this friction that keeps coming up is coming from.
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At the very best, Benji is not yet ready to coach a first grade side. At worst, it will be a disaster.
 
To be expected , 1/2 price deal on offer , no other half’s around of quality , Why would he stay , Roosters probably offer $400 and a semi spot , they will clean out this year after there poor runs of late , Pommy Footy as well , Hope we have a plan cause it could get ugly fielding a team with no quality Half’s at all. Spoon 3 years running could be on the cards now
 
earl said:
He has had enough. Sad. I don't blame him though.

I assume this can change as well but it's cool.
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No, No....
There's a bunch of deckheads here that said "No other club will sign him"
Been saying it, again and again - For years now...

They obviously know, Be very interesting when their claims come to fruition....
 
jirskyr said:
I'm sorry Earl but very few Tigers fans believe that is true.
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I don't know what they believe but he has been a scapegoat for a while. I agree that a marquee salary comes with high expectations but I think his salary was overinflated on here as an example just to justify the argument that he is the main issue in the Tigers losing. I don't think his average contract in his tenure here would have been completely ridiculous but I don't know for sure. When I say I don't know I also don't believe many punters had any idea about his salary.
 
I don't really buy that Brooks was made a scapegoat. We weren't a great team obviously across these years. But he was, truthfully, the biggest problem in those years. That's not to say if we replaced him we would've been a good team, but replacing him (or at least significantly reducing his salary and role) was definitely up there when it came to priorities for turning us around.
 
earl said:
I don't know what they believe but he has been a scapegoat for a while. I agree that a marquee salary comes with high expectations but I think his salary was overinflated on here as an example just to justify the argument that he is the main issue in the Tigers losing. I don't think his average contract in his tenure here would have been completely ridiculous but I don't know for sure. When I say I don't know I also don't believe many punters had any idea about his salary.
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Has it been a million dollars with any regularity? I doubt it. Was it a million this year? Quite possibly; it's been widely reported, and if inflated, I think there is a fair consensus that Brooks was being back-ended, which is not his fault, and I don't measure him as a million-dollar man myself.

The real question is "has Brooks been in roughly our top few salaries for several seasons?" The answer is yes. Does Brooks generally play well most of the time? The answer is no. That presents a problem - if you are one of the higher-paid players and you only play well sometimes, then you hurt the team's chances.
 
jirskyr said:
The real question is "has Brooks been in roughly our top few salaries for several seasons?" The answer is yes. Does Brooks generally play well most of the time? The answer is no. That presents a problem - if you are one of the higher-paid players and you only play well sometimes, then you hurt the team's chances.
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I get it and I don't want to argue too much or anything but he is also our halfback and we've had plenty of worse contracts. Packer, Mbye, Reynolds are good examples.

I also can't judge the comment does he play well most of the time because I can't and I don't believe anyone else can (unless they have some super human memory) remember his whole career. I try and judge each game with as little bias as possible and that isn't easy but there is no way I can remember every game this season. I think him and Api have been our best this season and it's close between them. Bula has also been unreal but he has played less games.

I'm cool with him going. I've had enough of hearing how Brooks is the no 1 reason for us being poor for so long and in my opinion the over the top comments towards him. It'll be good to get a break from that.
 
I am ok with him going. Will get the $ he is worth. Bad luck amTigers, no doubt we will spend the $ and more on NSW Cup Player. For eg all players mentioned above. Obviously going backwards, but hey it’s the Tigers. Looking forward to 2026 and onwards. Next couple of years will be pain and suffering. Lol
 
KingRobbie said:

NRL transfer news: Luke Brooks rejects Wests Tigers, will leave club after 2023 season​

For so long the whipping boy at the Wests Tigers, maligned halfback Luke Brooks has left the club shell-shocked after negotiations on a new deal took a dramatic twist.
Brent Read and Michael Carayannis
June 11, 2023 - 1:29PM

Wests Tigers star Luke Brooks has dropped a bombshell on the club after informing them of his plans to leave at the end of the season.

Brooks had a two-year extension on the table from the club but it is understood he informed assistant coach Benji Marshall on Sunday morning that he would not be taking up the deal.

It means Brooks will head to the open market, where is expected to attract offers from the NRL and Super League.

The 28-year-old has been a constant at the Tigers since making his debut as an 18-year-old, playing more than 200 games for the club and winning the Dally M halfback of the year award in 2018.

In recent years he has become a lightning rod for criticism as the Tigers have struggled.

Brooks has more often than not been the whipping boy at the club but he has responded in recent weeks by producing some of the best form of his career, prompting coach Tim Sheens and Marshall to push the club to table an extension for the next two seasons.

However, it is understood the club was pushing Brooks for a response and he has opted to seek greener pastures after more than a decade at his boyhood club.

MORE TO COME
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seek greener pastures please Luke
 
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Based on his last 6 weeks, I was okay with re-signing Brooks, but the reality is we need a 7 with a better short kicking game.

As soon as Api went off against the titans our structure fell apart in a similar fashion as it did last year when Hastings got injured.

Like everything it depends what we replace him with. Letting Hastings go was just stupid.
 
The thing is hasn’t Brooks been on the market for yonks? I’m ok with him going the thing that worry’s me is we probably didn’t have a back up to him going. Someone mentioned Sanders and Fainu is who we are chasing hard, if that comes off keep Wakeham and give the kids a run with blocked paths.
 
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