**live game feed** vs the Eels

[hobbo1]

I don't get the Brooks hate. He was really good against the Eels. He hasn't been that bad this year.

I get that he isn't Andrew Johns but how many great halves are there in the comp ?

I do think the club should be on the lookout for good quality halves coming through the grades but we shouldn't just get rid of Brooks and replace him with a worse option.

I don't hate him, I have tried to be patient with him, but that wears thin after 8 seasons, if we want to improve, we need to look elsewhere

Chad Townsend is off contract

 

[mike]

Stats from yesterdays game

No runs or tackles or stuff like that..?

It’s blankety blanks

You need to fill in the blanks

k


Do you also write Valentine’s Day cards in your spare time ?

We all know stats are meaningless without the context..

Back to baking cookies for Brooksie for you.

Execpt when he had 2 right..

Well it’s a definition isn’t it
He gave final pass to Stefano and to Liddle and kicked for Laurie (but to me LL’s touch goes down as the assist)
Is a catch and pass a try assist?
For stefano try it was actually Mbyes pick up and for liddle it was LL’s break and offload. So........
I’ve always found the definition of a try assist as a little iffy.....

Oh I agree but last year it was used to bag him and seems now this year by definition it's used to bag him..

He also was bagged for never supporting breaks , if my memory serves me correctly . He got try assists from basically supporting breaks .
I just don’t understand the hate . The only thing I can guess , is people thought he was the next Johns , so they bought into the hype , so now it’s brooks fault that he didn’t live up to some unrealistic expectation , that was just media hogwash to begin with .

Perception is reality, Brooks is a below average halfback.

Nope , he’s an above average halfback , and you all want him to be elite . That’s literally it . He’s supposed to catch the ball , pass the ball , then catch it again ,then magically make that player go through a gap ,or not drop the ball , plus it’s his fault if the centre misses a tackle on the other side of the field , also his fault if he passes to his 6 , who dies with the ball instead of kicking.
Also he has to have every kick be a 40/20, or a repeat set , or cause an error .
It’s ridiculous , and kind of sad .

He is inconsistent, that makes him below average.

No ,that makes him inconsistent . And I’ll even argue that’s not true either . Look the guys been good the last couple of weeks , and if you check the stats , that will back me up.
I’ll say one final thing , Show me a better half , cause it isn’t Hastings and Madden is a younger less good brooks .
Which is my point all along .
Anyways I’m done . You can all go back to your hate bubble .

You can argue all you like but that won’t make Brooks into anything than a below average half. His time is almost up and the clock is ticking. Unless there is significant improvement and soon he’ll be goneski.

Says who ?
I’ll argue the opposite . But that’s fine , as long as there’s someone better . If it’s madden that’s fine , but if you want instant success that’s even less likely .
I actually think he should go .
Because I know it will be the same as every other player who’s had success post here .
“Why didn’t we keep him, god we suck at recruitment etc”
People wanted benji gone , then Robbie , Bodene Thompson , Fifita had attitude issues , Paps was too small , Hodgson was “past it”before he left , then there were cries for why we replaced him with McKinnon .
Even the worst buy ever , Adam Blair , had people bemoaning us releasing him.

There’s systematic issues with the team . Brooks is not the issue , and it’s just scapegoating to think he is .

Brooks is a big issue with the team. You can hide behind all the excuses you like but his time is coming to an end. After 151 games it’s Improve or he’s out.

Do you know something Mike or are you guessing, I mean I am agreeing with you, 150 plus games and we still hear "give him more time" that just does my head in, no other club, even the extremely poorly run ones would not have put up with it for 8 years

I know very little except when someone or in this case the club says one thing but acts opposite to that, something is afoot.

 

[earl]

I don't get the Brooks hate. He was really good against the Eels. He hasn't been that bad this year.

I get that he isn't Andrew Johns but how many great halves are there in the comp ?

I do think the club should be on the lookout for good quality halves coming through the grades but we shouldn't just get rid of Brooks and replace him with a worse option.

I don't hate him, I have tried to be patient with him, but that wears thin after 8 seasons, if we want to improve, we need to look elsewhere

Chad Townsend is off contract

This is gold and it's exactly what I'm trying to state. We need to look to improve. All the hate seems to be more like let's get the the next dud and start the cycle again.

 

[TigerBlood93]

The pack effects the outcome of the game and the halves effect by how much.

 

[twentyforty]

Stats from yesterdays game

No runs or tackles or stuff like that..?

It’s blankety blanks

You need to fill in the blanks

k


Do you also write Valentine’s Day cards in your spare time ?

We all know stats are meaningless without the context..

Back to baking cookies for Brooksie for you.

Execpt when he had 2 right..

Well it’s a definition isn’t it
He gave final pass to Stefano and to Liddle and kicked for Laurie (but to me LL’s touch goes down as the assist)
Is a catch and pass a try assist?
For stefano try it was actually Mbyes pick up and for liddle it was LL’s break and offload. So........
I’ve always found the definition of a try assist as a little iffy.....

Oh I agree but last year it was used to bag him and seems now this year by definition it's used to bag him..

He also was bagged for never supporting breaks , if my memory serves me correctly . He got try assists from basically supporting breaks .
I just don’t understand the hate . The only thing I can guess , is people thought he was the next Johns , so they bought into the hype , so now it’s brooks fault that he didn’t live up to some unrealistic expectation , that was just media hogwash to begin with .

Perception is reality, Brooks is a below average halfback.

Nope , he’s an above average halfback , and you all want him to be elite . That’s literally it . He’s supposed to catch the ball , pass the ball , then catch it again ,then magically make that player go through a gap ,or not drop the ball , plus it’s his fault if the centre misses a tackle on the other side of the field , also his fault if he passes to his 6 , who dies with the ball instead of kicking.
Also he has to have every kick be a 40/20, or a repeat set , or cause an error .
It’s ridiculous , and kind of sad .

He is inconsistent, that makes him below average.

No ,that makes him inconsistent . And I’ll even argue that’s not true either . Look the guys been good the last couple of weeks , and if you check the stats , that will back me up.
I’ll say one final thing , Show me a better half , cause it isn’t Hastings and Madden is a younger less good brooks .
Which is my point all along .
Anyways I’m done . You can all go back to your hate bubble .

It’s the context of the stats that count mate ...
His failure to get repeat sets and kicks out on the full ( Raiders game) outweigh the one or two try assists he gets once in a blue moon ..
The pack has no issues making it down the field it’s what happens when we get there .

I think the role of the ‘pack’ is sometimes underestimated, I’ve always found that your forwards are there to win the battle, which involves immense effort, intimidation and ultimately tiring out the opposition. It’s something tangible you can feel when you’re on the field. As a back, when you’re winning that battle everything seems easier. Not sure how many times Brooksy gets that feeling in games.

Very good point. I’ve been thinking about something Mitchell Moses said in his post game interview. He stopped short of taking credit for his win in the halfback battle, almost conceding that his forwards gave him opportunities that didn’t exist for his mate. I may be reading too much into Moses’ moment of humility, but it had me wondering..does he think Brooks is a better half??

Maybe he is a better half, maybe he is not.

Can guarantee Brooks is a better human being,

Lowest of the low is to be a "Tanker"


I wouldn’t be too hard on the guy Russ? He’s clearly enjoying his footy and getting paid not much less than our man Brooksy.
When we had a good group of juniors coming through all they would have been dreaming of is staying together and winning a 1st grade GF just as the Panthers are hoping for. The club shattered their dreams by doing their best to break them. At least that’s what it looked like at the time.


He is on more than Brooks from what i have heard

I thought he was on $750k? With Brooks into a 4 year $3.5m deal?
Anyway it doesn’t matter, we have the better half and we will see more proof of this in the last 8 games of this season.

 

[Needaname]

Calling a decision out here, we watching the game and Musgrove i hope has been given a rocket up his bum. If we talk effort. He certainly lacked it in the first half whilst he was fresh. I’d be going back to Joe Off to start.
Side note also. Doueihi’s side in attack is really disjointed. They are really struggling to get Roberts on any of the angles and Garner gives him no options at all!

 

[hank37w]

Brooks is a BETTER HALF. He is never had a pack dominate week in week out to play off the back off. Look at Thurston's last year when his pack wasn't preforming....

Lets see how Brooks is going at 35 .......

Well that gives him 9 years to work on his game and get it to the level of Thurston's last year.

Are we there yet?

 

[hank37w]

I don't get the Brooks hate. He was really good against the Eels. He hasn't been that bad this year.

I get that he isn't Andrew Johns but how many great halves are there in the comp ?

I do think the club should be on the lookout for good quality halves coming through the grades but we shouldn't just get rid of Brooks and replace him with a worse option.

I don't hate him, I have tried to be patient with him, but that wears thin after 8 seasons, if we want to improve, we need to look elsewhere

Chad Townsend is off contract

Best thing Chad Townsend ever did was get punched out by Bodene Thompson.

 

[Lauren]

There's too many chinks in the armour to solely lay blame or all focus on Brooks.

Though I believe a Storm team including C Smith reigned supreme, Roosters are now unmatched(in the NRL) at breaking down their opponents with Penrith just oozing xfactor and skill. While I don't think Eels or Raiders are as talented or methodical, they do however know how to pick apart teams and grind out wins.
Mostly, these teams have had years to get to where they are and with more time - or other advancements such as recruitment - are only continuing to improve.
So it's silly to expect this level of performance from the team or our playermakers at present, as it's more a matter of how those teams are capable of working as a solid unit when ours still aren't quite working as cohesively as we'd like.
I understand some frustrations but I believe other teams are simply exposing and taking advantage of our glaring weaknesses which should've been addressed Rd 1, 2 or 3.
Over the past two weeks I've seen something from Brooks I haven't seen in his career once and that is to pick himself up and carry on. There's obviously game management issues but his play making isn't as poor as some are stating. It's the whole team's ability to compete effectively which should be prominently assessed. Both halves are struggling at times but they've shown persistence and are only going to get better.

Well said Lauren - finally someone with a decent summation, with no axe to grind and a little objectivity and positivity.

Pleasure to read.

Thankyou @Russell. I just feel like most expectations are misplaced or unrealistic.
Every game has included assessment of Luke's game management, leadership, game awareness, footy IQ, composure, resolve/adaptibility, kicking success rate...and ability to lead us into the Top 4.
His weaknesses and strengths are wellknown and he's not magically going to gain certain abilities in a weekly span, so why constantly criticise something that is more a progressive trait.
Nothing is wrong with wanting him to show some adaptibility in his game but the measurement of a player's response, any modifications to our structures or behaviours is through team effort. Like achieving (team) KPIs, a player's resolve is totally dependent on team adaptation. It's also a skill set that requires time to work and build on.
A team is only as good as their weakest player, and the effort and attitude from Penrith last night is the perfect example of this.

When we play more cohesively we'll go alright and can still be on track for making the 8. Think we're still lacking some polish but it's because of this.

If anything I want to see and hear more passion from him on the field. I believe it's noticeable enough he's been tasked with certain things from Madge and is working on both this and helping bring what the team or game demands.
This is what instability or changes do to a team. It resets structures each time a new player is brought in - and look at how many new players we have - so perhaps some patience is best, until we as a team can click.

 

[Deleted member 3518]

There's too many chinks in the armour to solely lay blame or all focus on Brooks.

Though I believe a Storm team including C Smith reigned supreme, Roosters are now unmatched(in the NRL) at breaking down their opponents with Penrith just oozing xfactor and skill. While I don't think Eels or Raiders are as talented or methodical, they do however know how to pick apart teams and grind out wins.
Mostly, these teams have had years to get to where they are and with more time - or other advancements such as recruitment - are only continuing to improve.
So it's silly to expect this level of performance from the team or our playermakers at present, as it's more a matter of how those teams are capable of working as a solid unit when ours still aren't quite working as cohesively as we'd like.
I understand some frustrations but I believe other teams are simply exposing and taking advantage of our glaring weaknesses which should've been addressed Rd 1, 2 or 3.
Over the past two weeks I've seen something from Brooks I haven't seen in his career once and that is to pick himself up and carry on. There's obviously game management issues but his play making isn't as poor as some are stating. It's the whole team's ability to compete effectively which should be prominently assessed. Both halves are struggling at times but they've shown persistence and are only going to get better.

Well said Lauren - finally someone with a decent summation, with no axe to grind and a little objectivity and positivity.

Pleasure to read.

Thankyou @Russell. I just feel like most expectations are misplaced or unrealistic.
Every game has included assessment of Luke's game management, leadership, game awareness, footy IQ, composure, resolve/adaptibility, kicking success rate...and ability to lead us into the Top 4.
His weaknesses and strengths are wellknown and he's not magically going to gain certain abilities in a weekly span, so why constantly criticise something that is more a progressive trait.
Nothing is wrong with wanting him to show some adaptibility in his game but the measurement of a player's response, any modifications to our structures or behaviours is through team effort. Like achieving (team) KPIs, a player's resolve is totally dependent on team adaptation. It's also a skill set that requires time to work and build on.
A team is only as good as their weakest player, and the effort and attitude from Penrith last night is the perfect example of this.

When we play more cohesively we'll go alright and can still be on track for making the 8. Think we're still lacking some polish but it's because of this.

If anything I want to see and hear more passion from him on the field. I believe it's noticeable enough he's been tasked with certain things from Madge and is working on both this and helping bring what the team or game demands.
This is what instability or changes do to a team. It resets structures each time a new player is brought in - and look at how many new players we have - so perhaps some patience is best, until we as a team can click.

I agree with everything you’ve said . One thing last week I found noticeable , was during a huddle after our first try in the second half , brooks was in there screaming at the team , and honestly everyone looked engaged . The team then lifted . Which shows to me , that the team really feeds off his energy. When he’s got powderpuff energy , and he’s quiet , the team is a mess , when he’s got big boy energy , so does the team .

If I was Madge . I’d sit him down and show him that 30 seconds , and the subsequent 15-20mins of footy , and then show him another game where he seemed disinterested , or was down on confidence , and I’m sure the team was a pile of turds that game .

It also shows how much the boys love the kid . He just has to fake it till he makes it , in regards to his lak of vocal work in games / game management . And I think he is doing that . Plus AD has huge big boy energy . He’s not here to bring the drinks . That’s pretty infectious as well.

 

[happy_tiger]

Brooks is a BETTER HALF. He is never had a pack dominate week in week out to play off the back off. Look at Thurston's last year when his pack wasn't preforming....

Lets see how Brooks is going at 35 .......

Well that gives him 9 years to work on his game and get it to the level of Thurston's last year.

Are we there yet?

3287 days to go (including 2 leap years )

 

[Merlot]

I don't get the Brooks hate. He was really good against the Eels. He hasn't been that bad this year.

I get that he isn't Andrew Johns but how many great halves are there in the comp ?

I do think the club should be on the lookout for good quality halves coming through the grades but we shouldn't just get rid of Brooks and replace him with a worse option.

I don't hate him, I have tried to be patient with him, but that wears thin after 8 seasons, if we want to improve, we need to look elsewhere

Chad Townsend is off contract

Best thing Chad Townsend ever did was get punched out by Bodene Thompson.

2 thumbs up for u sir,thats funny

 

[Mossman]

After today you would have to get rid of Talau and Kepaoa.
BJ played strongly in reserves scoring and setting up his winger for a few.
Cini was strong again at fullback and safe under a high ball.... might go well on the wing.
Brooks should also go but there’s no strong pressure from reggies where the halves don’t look up to first grade yet.
Same with Simpkin....goes from dummy half EVERY time near the opposition try line.