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Brooks proves his class with clutch 40/20
By Jack Brady, Staff Writer
NRL.com
5:30pm Sun 08th June, 2014
Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks has proved his class once again after a sublime 40/20 changed the momentum of the game in his team's 23-20 win over the Newcastle Knights on Sunday afternoon.
With the ball clearly in the Knights' court with 15 minutes left, Brooks bamboozled the opposition defence with the clutch play. It would end up being the match-turner for the Tigers, securing sixth spot on the ladder for the time being.
"I think he is progressing OK. He's doing a lot more right than wrong," Tigers coach Mick Potter said of Brooks.
"That 40/20 kick just epitomises some of the stuff that he can do. We just need to make sure our forwards are going forward for him and you'll see more of him then.
"Credit to Newcastle, they really handled us in that second half but he came up with the big play to get us down the other end of the field."
Tigers captain Robbie Farah was further complimentary of his 19-year-old halfback, saying he feels the youngster finally senses he belongs in the team.
"He just keeps learning. Like Mick said, he's not the finished product but he's improving every week. Defensively, teams are running at him but for a kid he keeps putting his body on the line," Farah said.
"His talk is getting better. He feels a lot more confident directing the team around the park and it's always hard for a young kid as a 19-year-old to push senior players around the park. That's what's he doing now and that's what we need him to do."
While the 40/20 turned the game, the sequential sin-binning of Kurt Gidley from the subsequent tap only helped the Tigers' cause. The Knights captain ran into Farah and was punished severely for it.
"It changed the game didn't it?" Farah said.
"Off the 40/20, I would have scored if he didn't knock me over. You kind of think that teams haven’t picked up on the fact it's a tap restart off the 40/20 and I sprinted down there and got the ball in my hands and my eyes were wide open ready to score so either way it was a big play from Brooksy.
"It was always going to be tough for them from there and … I thought we really shut the game down in those last 12, 13 minutes."
With the Tigers taking on the Rabbitohs in a tough Friday night encounter in Round 14, Mick Potter felt the win away from home was another feather in his team's cap.
"I like to think that we were pretty desperate and I understand they're desperate having had a few losses in a row. I think it is an achievement for our players to come here and go home with the points because I don't think many teams like coming here," Potter said.
"It's a great atmosphere for the crowd but I don't want to undersell what our players did today. It was a real good achievement."
By Jack Brady, Staff Writer
NRL.com
5:30pm Sun 08th June, 2014
Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks has proved his class once again after a sublime 40/20 changed the momentum of the game in his team's 23-20 win over the Newcastle Knights on Sunday afternoon.
With the ball clearly in the Knights' court with 15 minutes left, Brooks bamboozled the opposition defence with the clutch play. It would end up being the match-turner for the Tigers, securing sixth spot on the ladder for the time being.
"I think he is progressing OK. He's doing a lot more right than wrong," Tigers coach Mick Potter said of Brooks.
"That 40/20 kick just epitomises some of the stuff that he can do. We just need to make sure our forwards are going forward for him and you'll see more of him then.
"Credit to Newcastle, they really handled us in that second half but he came up with the big play to get us down the other end of the field."
Tigers captain Robbie Farah was further complimentary of his 19-year-old halfback, saying he feels the youngster finally senses he belongs in the team.
"He just keeps learning. Like Mick said, he's not the finished product but he's improving every week. Defensively, teams are running at him but for a kid he keeps putting his body on the line," Farah said.
"His talk is getting better. He feels a lot more confident directing the team around the park and it's always hard for a young kid as a 19-year-old to push senior players around the park. That's what's he doing now and that's what we need him to do."
While the 40/20 turned the game, the sequential sin-binning of Kurt Gidley from the subsequent tap only helped the Tigers' cause. The Knights captain ran into Farah and was punished severely for it.
"It changed the game didn't it?" Farah said.
"Off the 40/20, I would have scored if he didn't knock me over. You kind of think that teams haven’t picked up on the fact it's a tap restart off the 40/20 and I sprinted down there and got the ball in my hands and my eyes were wide open ready to score so either way it was a big play from Brooksy.
"It was always going to be tough for them from there and … I thought we really shut the game down in those last 12, 13 minutes."
With the Tigers taking on the Rabbitohs in a tough Friday night encounter in Round 14, Mick Potter felt the win away from home was another feather in his team's cap.
"I like to think that we were pretty desperate and I understand they're desperate having had a few losses in a row. I think it is an achievement for our players to come here and go home with the points because I don't think many teams like coming here," Potter said.
"It's a great atmosphere for the crowd but I don't want to undersell what our players did today. It was a real good achievement."
