Luke Brooks #167

twentyforty said:
I think Luke is a 7, he’s more in the style of Williams when he was at Raiders.
He may not be the kind of 7 many of us visualise but that’s his best spot imho.
Sure, he went ok at 6, especially when Hastings played 13, but that was due to him playing in an ordinary team.
Brooksy went ok under Cleary because we had some mongrel in our pack, did their tackles and all ran more than 100mts every game. This gave Brooks time n space to be more proactive rather than reacting to undesirable situations.
IDK if this current pack can be as good as Cleary’s kiwi mates but they look as good on paper.
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The best bit. 2023 we will know.

As you say, our pack coming in has Mongrel. Our 2022 pack was mainly Poodle.

That means:
Brooks performs we praise him.
Brooks sucks we fire him!

Brooks aint a halfback. He is far too physical and plays the running game. He clearly sucks behind a weak pack, so if he gets a strong pack and Fluffs it we need him GONE.
 
For anyone interested Luke Brooks will feature on Channel 502, for stunning debuts, in approx half an hour.
 
Lauren said:
For anyone interested Luke Brooks will feature on Channel 502, for stunning debuts, in approx half an hour.
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You know youve backed a winner for a decade when the best thing anyone can still say about you is you had a pretty decent game on debut. Ever see Joeys debut? thats what you call a stunner, he then had a pretty good career some experts would say. I wonder how the history books will remember Brooks.

 
crazycat said:
The best bit. 2023 we will know.

As you say, our pack coming in has Mongrel. Our 2022 pack was mainly Poodle.

That means:
Brooks performs we praise him.
Brooks sucks we fire him!

Brooks aint a halfback. He is far too physical and plays the running game. He clearly sucks behind a weak pack, so if he gets a strong pack and Fluffs it we need him GONE.
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I think Brooks’ game has changed during the last 5 years or so, he’s adapted to a style which suits the team he’s been part of. His competitive nature will probably see him adapt. I hope it’s fast enough for his baggers on here 😂
 
Winston Churchill said:
That's the meaningless 5 minute bonus DVD in the set that no one bothers to watch and adds zero value to the overall series.
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While I understand why they have the awards, it’s not the greatest thing any NRL player can achieve. The 3 best things (4 if you include playing finals footy in general) is winning a premiership, playing Origin (if eligible) and representing your country. Brooks has not achieved anything of the sort. Think the boat has sailed for all 3 it definitely has sailed for Origin and Australia. Very unlikely he’ll win a premiership.
 

‘It’s everywhere’: Wests Tigers star Luke Brooks opens up on brutal criticism and what he ‘hated’ about ‘next Joey’ talk​

Darcie McDonald from Fox Sports@darciemcdonald
January 25th, 2023 6:54 am

No current NRL player is criticised more than Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks.
The 28-year-old has borne the brunt of the club’s failures over the last decade and as a result has seemingly developed a very thick skin, conceding: “I’m sort of used to it now.”
But his halves partner Adam Doueihi can see through the tough front and revealed it “does have an effect on him.”

Brooks has 189 NRL games to his name and a Dally M Halfback of the Year trophy to boot. But he also carries the unwanted record of most games played without a finals appearance — a stat he is often reminded of.

Criticism has consistently been thrown in his direction over the last few years, but it reached boiling point in the opening months of last season.

He was targeted after the Tigers lost their first five games of the year — their worst start in club history. The barrage of criticism forced chairman Lee Hagipantelis to jump to his defence, calling it “excessive” as well as “unwarranted and unhealthy.”

Brooks also fired back at his critics at the time with: “A lot of people have never done anything in the game, so I couldn’t care less what they say about me.”

And he backed it up the very next game, setting up two tries in the Tigers’ first win of the season — a one-point upset over eventual grand finalists, the Eels.

Hastings took the opportunity to put an arm around his teammate, urging the media and fans to “get off his back for a week,” before declaring “what a performance,” in a post-game interview.

“I guess it’s a part of it,” he shrugged

“When you’re going good you get all the raps so it goes hand-in-hand.

“I’m sort of used to it now, but as long as my teammates and the staff are happy with me then that’s all that matters.

“I try to stay away from it (the negativity)... Sometimes it can be hard though because it’s everywhere and people ask you about it but as much as I can, I try not to read into it.

“I learnt that a long time ago.”

However Doueihi has a tougher time with it because he believes the targeted criticism actually does take its toll on Brooks.

“Obviously it hurts seeing him (cop criticism) because I see the work that he does in the pre-season and during the season,” he told foxsports.com.au.

“It does have an effect on him — I can see that.

“He’s had a really good pre-season this year, it’s been more enjoyable for myself and him. We have a clear picture of how we want to play, there’s a style of footy this year that suits both our games and we’ve enjoyed that.

“Hopefully we can start the season good and have some positive media reports about him and about the club for a change.

“Winning stops all negative media reports so the more we can win the better it is for everyone.”

Brooks has always had the attention of media. In fact, there were already stories being written about him before he had made his NRL debut — that’s how highly-regarded he was as a kid.

He was a Tigers junior that played Australian Schoolboys and took the club’s SG Ball team to a premiership.

He was also dubbed the next Andrew Johns.

Brooks got his debut as a fresh-faced 18-year-old in 2013 and lived up to expectations, scoring a try and setting up two more to earn man of the match honours.

But all that hype and attention was exactly what he didn’t want.

“When I came in (to first grade), I hadn’t even played a game and I was getting raps — I hated that,” Brooks said.

“I just didn’t know how to take it, I would rather just be quiet and out of the media. But I guess whether it’s good or bad I just try not to read it.

“Even when my when dad would watch an NRL show and my name popped up, I’d just go awkward. I hated being at home when he was watching the NRL shows.

“Just from a young age I’ve felt uncomfortable with it.”

Unfortunately for Brooks he’s set for another season in the headlines whether the Tigers go well or not because he’s coming off contract.

His contract situation somewhat slipped under the radar over the off-season — a relief for him given this time last year it was reported every day that he had signed with the Knights.

“To be honest I haven’t really thought about it too much,” Brooks said when asked about his next contract.

“It’s kind of been good, the past few years there’s always been stuff about me going or staying so it’s been good to have a pre-season where there hasn’t been any chat.

“I’ve been able to focus on footy and that’s all I can do. When that comes up it’ll come up but at the moment I’m just focused on playing footy.”

Brooks confirmed that “there’s been talks” with the club about a potential new deal but he is in no rush, adding: “we’ll worry about it when it comes.”

Should the Tigers re-sign Brooks, it’s expected it’ll be on less than the reported $1.1 million he stands to earn this season.

But he can prove his worth by steering the club to their first finals appearance since 2011 — and can use the help of the several big-name recruits, including three-time premiership-winning hooker Api Koroisau to do that.

“You can already tell the difference he makes,” Brooks said of Koroisau.

“What he does around the ruck helps me so much, it’ll take a lot of pressure off me because other teams’ defence will be focused on him and what he’s doing around the ruck.

“I’m really looking forward to playing with ‘Ice’ (Isaiah Papali’i), I think he’s someone that will suit my game,” he added.

“He’s a good hole-running back-rower, but also in defence he’s a good quality player and you can really see that when we’re out on the field training.”
 
Glenji95 said:
While I understand why they have the awards, it’s not the greatest thing any NRL player can achieve. The 3 best things (4 if you include playing finals footy in general) is winning a premiership, playing Origin (if eligible) and representing your country. Brooks has not achieved anything of the sort. Think the boat has sailed for all 3 it definitely has sailed for Origin and Australia. Very unlikely he’ll win a premiership.
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I can think of three achievements for Brooks in his career -

1. Having the respect of your teammates and opponents.
2. Being a consistent NRL player
3. Potentially a one club player.

Not every player can be a Kangaroo, an SOO player or win a premiership. Many very good players have not achieved all three and one player who comes to mind ironically is Kevin Hastings. Most would agree he was a fine player for the Roosters.
 
pawsandclaws1 said:
I can think of three achievements for Brooks in his career -

1. Having the respect of your teammates and opponents.
2. Being a consistent NRL player
3. Potentially a one club player.

Not every player can be a Kangaroo, an SOO player or win a premiership. Many very good players have not achieved all three and one player who comes to mind ironically is Kevin Hastings. Most would agree he was a fine player for the Roosters.
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He should be that player when he’s getting paid 1.1 million a season.
 
I think it’s time we all sit back and wait to we see what Brooks can do with a decent pack around him , I think this is our strongest pack we have had with him at half , let’s get off his back and wait and see , poor bloke has coped crap for poor games and I get it but most times he cops crap that should have been directed elsewhere , like our poor forwards who have been pushed backwards for years , no strike centres , average wingers , poor buying like Moses Mbye , And co who brought nothing to our team so again Brooks gets bashed for not leading us forward , you need talent across the park to go forward , now we have a fair bit of it , ( gun Centre would help ) but don’t be shocked we don’t hold our ground and push a top 8 spot this year , I’m positive we will be more than a match for most teams
 
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