I think this was the only real option for Brooks.
Everybody seems to be putting a lot of faith in Cleary finally coaching Luke into a good halfback.
Will his tackling improve? It hasn't under the bevy of coaches he has had to date.
Will Cleary teach him when to run and when to pass? Really? Then Cleary and Brooks will need to be miked up every game.
I see Cleary continuing on from all other junior and senior coaches - reducing the mistakes in his game.
Don't get me wrong, Brooks must have talent to play first grade but if the coach is going to turn him into a star give me the coach that spent most time with Thurston.
This is the great unknown cq. However, as has been pointed out, there have been some great halves who have struggled defensively - Thurston at times is little more than a speed hump, Lockyer had major issues, Maloney isn't great, etc. However, these players had great protection around them and their team was/is generally able to cover the defensive lapses. Brooks, of course is no where near the standard of these guys in other aspects of his game, but he obviously has talent. He wasn't talked up as the next Andrew Johns for nothing. (And this ridiculous comparison wouldn't have helped him one little bit).
Cleary has a huge job on his hands, primarily getting the team as whole to work as a defensive unit. This is his major work - if he can do this, then Brooks' defensive frailties will be less significant.
What is nearly impossible to cover up is having both halves being poor defenders.
So for me, although Moses is an enormous talent, we can't afford to have both in the team. Unfortunately, (or fortunately), Brooks has put pen to paper first. Unless we can secure Mitchell at half of his asking price, I would withdraw the offer and use the money to go hard for some decent tough forwards.
I would love Woods to re-sign, (and Tedesco of course), but Woodsy needs some real tough nuts along side him to compliment his style of play. He will never be an aggressive dominating forward, but what he does do is get the team going forward, makes lots of metres and is obviously great around the playing group.
Anyway, interesting times ahead - as usual for us long suffering fans!
You can't teach someone to know exactly when to run and when to pass
As Watto would tell you a lot of it is based on instincts and are reacting to what the defence is doing and the state of mind of the defence
If you could teach it and earn dollars from it players like Lewis , Sterling , Fittler and Johns would be millionaires