Luke Brooks #167

batboy said:

‘He’ll be booed … they booed him as a Tiger’: Brooks prepares for Leichhardt return​

Christian Nicolussi

ByChristian Nicolussi​

August 19, 2024 — 7.30pm

James Tedesco labelled the reception he received on his return to Leichhardt Oval for the first time as an opposition player in 2020 as “pretty brutal” – and there were only 3000 fans in attendance that night because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Mitchell Moses had not even left the Tigers when angry fans hurled a bottle at him one night at the inner-western Sydney venue because he had announced he wanted to join Parramatta.

And club officials once wrote to members and asked them to stop booing Aaron Woods after it was confirmed he would join Canterbury.
So what kind of reception can Luke Brooks expect when he returns to Leichhardt Oval on Thursday night with Manly?

As highly rated youngsters, Brooks, Tedesco, Moses and Woods were once viewed as the future of the Tigers. However, Moses’ decision to “get off the bus” midway through 2017 to join Parramatta was followed by the exits of Tedesco and Woods at the end of that year to link with the Roosters and Bulldogs respectively.
Brooks, though, stayed for 11 seasons – and was given a standing ovation by the Leichhardt faithful when he produced arguably his best game ever for the club against North Queensland last season – only to finally quit the club for Manly. He was given a specially engraved barbecue as a parting gift.

Luke Brooks walks off Leichhardt after his best-ever performance for the Tigers last year.Credit:Getty
Brooks is only a few weeks away from playing in his first NRL finals series, having never experienced finals football in his time at the joint venture.
Woods, now at Manly with Brooks, said his teammate was guaranteed to be heckled by the locals on the hill, despite remaining loyal for so long, but the 29-year-old would not care.

“He’ll be booed, for sure, they booed him as a Tiger,” Woods told this masthead. “But Brooksy looks set to have the last laugh because he’s only a few weeks away from playing in the finals.

“They won’t care that he hung around so long. Watch how they will treat Stefano [Utoikamanu] next year when he returns with Melbourne. He’ll cop it. The fans don’t give a s--t. But Brooksy won’t care. He’s flying.
“I remember the first time I returned to play at Leichhardt. I was with Cronulla, it was the final round [in 2019], Robbie Farah played for the Tigers with a broken leg, and our bus had to stop halfway up Mary St because of the crowds.
“I hopped off, walked among the fans, and it was torture. Even my own mates in the crowd booed me that day. But that’s why Leichhardt is so good. You are so close to the ground. You hear everything.”

Tigers centre Adam Doueihi watched Brooks shoulder the blame for the Tigers’ failures on many occasions over the years, and said he hoped fans would respect his years of service to the club.
“Hopefully it’s not a warm welcome for him,” Doueihi said. “We had good fun with Brooksy here, I’m really good mates with him … he copped a lot of flak, especially wearing the No. 7 jersey at the club for so long.
“I’m glad to see him doing well with the change. You don’t hear his name in the media anymore, and there are no negative articles about him. He just has to play his game.”
Another former Tiger who now calls the northern beaches home, Nathan Brown, said it would be a shame if Brooks was jeered because of his contribution to the club. In 2018 he was named Dally M halfback of the year in a side that never made the finals.
“I’m sure the Tigers will respect him as a player and a person,” Brown said.
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If he plays like he did some weeks for the WTs he will get chaired off the field by Leichhardt fans
 
If Aloiai score I'm sure he'll pull out the 'lawnmower' post try celebration... Wouldn't be surprised if he gives the hill a gob full too... Brooks on the other hand will just go about his business and have the last laugh
While he will never be the most
talented half, /5-8th running around he's one of the toughest... Had backrowers twice his size running at him for a decade and never shirked his work and I admire that
 
cktiger said:
Hope Brooks cops plenty and has a shocker.
Can’t believe people think he was here so long because of loyalty… and forget the amount of money he was on was what was really keeping him here.
Stunk up the place for years pretending to be a halfback and ‘owning’ the team.
Good riddance.
Click to expand...
No one will forget. It’s burnt into our brains.
WT should have free counselling for the PTSD.
 
innsaneink said:
If Aloiai score I'm sure he'll pull out the 'lawnmower' post try celebration... Wouldn't be surprised if he gives the hill a gob full too... Brooks on the other hand will just go about his business and have the last laugh
While he will never be the most
talented half, /5-8th running around he's one of the toughest... Had backrowers twice his size running at him for a decade and never shirked his work and I admire that
Click to expand...
Post of the Week. A great summation of the nature of Luke Brooks. Will be happy for him as I watch him run out onto the field in his first ever NRL semi final.
 
People will boo. Its in their nature. Its how life has treated them and they must pass on their transgressions to other humans to justify their existence. The nature of the beast. Even in black, white and gold.
 
Last edited:
bigsiro said:
Galvin: “funny, I don’t remember you scoring when it actually mattered. and btw thanks for ruining my childhood.”
Click to expand...

Galvins was a Parra fan....
So was his dad.

I doubt Luke Brooks career would have any reflection on his childhood...
Might be Hayne you're thinking of.
 
He earned every boo he got while 'playing' (I use that term loosely) as a Tiger. He definitely deserves all the boos he is about to get in a Manly jersey.
 
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