Luke Brooks #167

[earl]

See if Doueihi had played the ball like Walker just did we would hear about it for a month

That was a Tigers play if ever I've seen one.

 

[Tim Sheens]

It wasn’t a 5 on 3 though.
Pause it as the ball is played; there are 9 titans in play, 7 outside the ruck with Tino hanging out the back of the play the ball. We had 5 outside of the markers.
Then goes at follows. Simpkin at marker no pressure on Verrils he is aloud to drift a couple of steps and finds a short ball to Liu who runs towards Stefano.
At that point A marker stephano is meandering and puts no pressure on Liu. Liu drifts across Stef and engages Blore with the tight run of Jollife running a decoy. Blore gets sucked in and Liu passes out the back to Foran as Blore hits Liu.
Then Foran with Fifita outside, Brimson behind and Sami and Peria has a 5 on 3 against Douiehi, Talau and Nofa.
I mentioned someone needed to provide the inside pressure on Foran, it starts even further, Stef at A marker needed to apply the pressure on Liu and then it all goes better from there

Wrote that it all started from the ruck, with a very poor effort from Utoikamanu during the live thread, and yes, Blore certainly did nothing wrong on that play.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

His role in the Souths team where isnt the main guy is very similar.

Sorry you cant see the comparison, Hopefully you can before seasons end.

There is no comparison in style, they are vastly different players. If we are talking importance of AD = team with a chance to win like Walker maybe onto something.

I’m not saying AD couldn’t be a very good player, never had, he could become a dominant game breaker. He is very much an injection makes the difference player very much like Fittler and Anasta style.

His defensive efforts though really let him down, he needs to improve that area bigtime if he is to hold a 5/8th role career wise.

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

ball playing lock if he can fix his defence

I don’t think he has the work rate or reaction smarts to be a lock. I think he could nail the 5/8th role just needs to complete his game defensively.

Attacking wise I have seen enough already to see a difference in him this year to last and he could evolve at 5/8th it’s his defensive side that worries me.

 

[The_Patriot]

There is no comparison in style, they are vastly different players. If we are talking importance of AD = team with a chance to win like Walker maybe onto something.

I’m not saying AD couldn’t be a very good player, never had, he could become a dominant game breaker. He is very much an injection makes the difference player very much like Fittler and Anasta style.

His defensive efforts though really let him down, he needs to improve that area bigtime if he is to hold a 5/8th role career wise.

Imagine if he threw an intercept in a GF.

This place would implode.

 

[The_Patriot]

My point is our fans are way too harsh on him compared to comparible second string players like Walker

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

Imagine if he threw an intercept in a GF.

This place would implode.

Yeah it would, imagine if Brooks, Laurie or someone else threw it in a GF would be 1000 times worse.

 

[The_Patriot]

Yeah it would, imagine if Brooks, Laurie or someone else threw it in a GF would be 1000 times worse.

Anyone else?

Doueihi is clear third most picked on

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

Anyone else?

Doueihi is clear third most picked on

Nofo and Seyfarth well infront of AD

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

I don’t think he has the work rate or reaction smarts to be a lock. I think he could nail the 5/8th role just needs to complete his game defensively.

Attacking wise I have seen enough already to see a difference in him this year to last and he could evolve at 5/8th it’s his defensive side that worries me.

agree the attack last week was awesome and much improved.
Reason I didn't mind 13 is he can roam a bit and kind of chime in either side with his running or pass a long ball.
I think if we did land Moses at 7 Brooks at 6 AD at 13 geez we would be lethal in attack.

 

[Jolls]

Disclaimer: I'm having a bit of a stab here as I don't know Luke Brooks, and as a rural supporter I have to get all of my "inside knowledge" from WTF, reading between the lines on the internet and what I see on the idiot box.

Consistently we have heard from the media that the coaching staff "want Brooks at the club" or it is "Luke Brooks team". There must be some credence to the claims given it has been trolled out season after season. We have recently heard Benji and Sheens talk about how much effort he has put into the pre season and how they want him at the club. Over the years I have never heard any of our players say anything negative about him (well openly anyway). So there has to be something that we "the unwashed" are missing.

We have seen his game change over time - he has gone from being a reasonably dynamic player on debut to one dimensional under Madge. Even during the dark ages of Madge's reign we saw touches of the dynamic Brooks among some dour performances.

Why is it that supporters are baying for blood but LB is as consistently as clockwork selected in the team?

Let's take the monkey off the back of for a minute. If we look at the teams over the last ten years or so, for the most part, our rosters, year in and year out, would have been lucky to pull the skin off a wet custard. This isn't a LB issue this is poor management by the club and the selection committee. Naturally the focus is on the halfback and his decision making as he is the one out on the field. But it must be more than that. I mean five hit ups and a bomb under Madge with our roster was never a smart plan. But we executed it - week in week out and despite everyone outside calling for the blood of Brooks he had the full support of Madge. Why?

This is where I am going out on a limb. Is it because Brooks is a genuine team first player? Is he the kid that does exactly what the coach tells him to do to the letter? Does he rigidly stick to the game plan because that is what he has been told to deliver?

At the end of the season before last I wanted Brooks trained as a hooker over the off season to try and turn him into a Damian Cook type weapon. Why, because he was ineffective as a half and we had him on a long contract. Last season sort of confirmed it for me that as a halfback he was a shocker. I know I'm not alone in that camp.

But what if we have got it all wrong?

What if, he is that unselfish player that literally puts the team first? What if his continued selection is linked to his ability to execute exactly what the coaching staff have been asking for? I know... "he has had ten years to prove his worth" etc, etc, etc. OK, if he has been that bad why has coach after coach persisted with him?

We can only surmise that the coaching staff are being delivered what they have been asking for. Otherwise he would surely be gone as this is a professional sport (although you would wonder at times the way we have been managed).

I saw a different LB last week to the one we were accustomed to seeing over the last four seasons. Sure it was clunky and there were mistakes but if he has been asked to play eyes up footy (which I think they all have) and make the most of second phase play he may have some upside. He hasn't played footy for a long while due to injury but last week we almost immediately started to see him run the ball - doing exactly what Sheens said he wanted him to do during the off season interviews.

Sure, he made some poor choices, he threw some shocking passes and his game was clunky; but it was a significant change from what we saw from him last year. Have LB and AD, been given permission to play eyes up football and pop up on either side of the field supporting each other? I hope so - I though we saw a couple of glimpses of that last week in an otherwise average attacking performance.

I expect to be lynched - but I think he and AD need a few together before we feed him to the sharks.

 

[earl]

Why is it that supporters are baying for blood but LB is as consistently as clockwork selected in the team?

My take is a lack of options.

I think he and AD needs a few together before we feed him to the sharks.

They do but they've been poor for a while now. Same as Laurie. They have their moments but professional footy players at that level can't just have some great games or great moments every so often. They have to be consistently good and they especially have to minimize their mistakes both with and without the ball.

They need some time but Brooks hadn't played for a while. Api started on the bench and looked rusty. Joe O was in the same boat - he started on the bench and I think he was great but it's not as much of a skill based position compared to Api and Brooks. I still don't know why Brooks wasn't picked in reserves.

Hopefully it starts clicking soon but I really think the coaching staff stuffed up last week in relation to Brooks.

 

[Tiger-ferret]

Disclaimer: I'm having a bit of a stab here as I don't know Luke Brooks, and as a rural supporter I have to get all of my "inside knowledge" from WTF, reading between the lines on the internet and what I see on the idiot box.

Consistently we have heard from the media that the coaching staff "want Brooks at the club" or it is "Luke Brooks team". There must be some credence to the claims given it has been trolled out season after season. We have recently heard Benji and Sheens talk about how much effort he has put into the pre season and how they want him at the club. Over the years I have never heard any of our players say anything negative about him (well openly anyway). So there has to be something that we "the unwashed" are missing.

We have seen his game change over time - he has gone from being a reasonably dynamic player on debut to one dimensional under Madge. Even during the dark ages of Madge's reign we saw touches of the dynamic Brooks among some dour performances.

Why is it that supporters are baying for blood but LB is as consistently as clockwork selected in the team?

Let's take the monkey off the back of for a minute. If we look at the teams over the last ten years or so, for the most part, our rosters, year in and year out, would have been lucky to pull the skin off a wet custard. This isn't a LB issue this is poor management by the club and the selection committee. Naturally the focus is on the halfback and his decision making as he is the one out on the field. But it must be more than that. I mean five hit ups and a bomb under Madge with our roster was never a smart plan. But we executed it - week in week out and despite everyone outside calling for the blood of Brooks he had the full support of Madge. Why?

This is where I am going out on a limb. Is it because Brooks is a genuine team first player? Is he the kid that does exactly what the coach tells him to do to the letter? Does he rigidly stick to the game plan because that is what he has been told to deliver?

At the end of the season before last I wanted Brooks trained as a hooker over the off season to try and turn him into a Damian Cook type weapon. Why, because he was ineffective as a half and we had him on a long contract. Last season sort of confirmed it for me that as a halfback he was a shocker. I know I'm not alone in that camp.

But what if we have got it all wrong?

What if, he is that unselfish player that literally puts the team first? What if his continued selection is linked to his ability to execute exactly what the coaching staff have been asking for? I know... "he has had ten years to prove his worth" etc, etc, etc. OK, if he has been that bad why has coach after coach persisted with him?

We can only surmise that the coaching staff are being delivered what they have been asking for. Otherwise he would surely be gone as this is a professional sport (although you would wonder at times the way we have been managed).

I saw a different LB last week to the one we were accustomed to seeing over the last four seasons. Sure it was clunky and there were mistakes but if he has been asked to play eyes up footy (which I think they all have) and make the most of second phase play he may have some upside. He hasn't played footy for a long while due to injury but last week we almost immediately started to see him run the ball - doing exactly what Sheens said he wanted him to do during the off season interviews.

Sure, he made some poor choices, he threw some shocking passes and his game was clunky; but it was a significant change from what we saw from him last year. Have LB and AD, been given permission to play eyes up football and pop up on either side of the field supporting each other? I hope so - I though we saw a couple of glimpses of that last week in an otherwise average attacking performance.

I expect to be lynched - but I think he and AD needs a few together before we feed him to the sharks.

It’s interesting. It’s not just tigers supporters. A few of my close mates single Brooks out why tigers struggle. They don’t want him anywhere near their side. One is a manly supporter and one is an eels supporter. I don’t know where they’ve been influenced.
The rest of my mates don’t really notice him or are more wholistic and say it’s the club or the squad as a whole.

 

[Jolls]

My take is a lack of options.

Recently yes, but going back over ten seasons you can't say there has been a lack of options. I agree, right now we have what we have but for some reason we have chosen to stick with him. Plenty have come and gone so there must be something we as the unwashed are missing.

I still don't know why Brooks wasn't picked in reserves.

Valid point - we can only assume, based on training, that they took a gamble and lost.

It’s interesting. It’s not just tigers supporters. A few of my close mates single Brooks out why tigers struggle. They don’t want him anywhere near their side. One is a manly supporter and one is an eels supporter. I don’t know where they’ve been influenced.
The rest of my mates don’t really notice him or are more wholistic and say it’s the club or the squad as a whole.

We will only ever know if he is part of a better side and performs. I'm prepared to give him, and AD, a few weeks. It won't stop me call out rubbish, but they are what we have and we have to give them a go. If there has been no development; off with his head!

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

Recently yes, but going back over ten seasons you can't say there has been a lack of options. I agree, right now we have what we have but for some reason we have chosen to stick with him. Plenty have come and gone so there must be something we as the unwashed are missing.

Valid point - we can only assume, based on training, that they took a gamble and lost.

We will only ever know if he is part of a better side and performs. I'm prepared to give him, and AD, a few weeks. It won't stop me call out rubbish, but they are what we have and we have to give them a go. If there has been no development; off with his head!

I’m giving them until rd 8 but expect against the Knights & Bulldogs a clear pro stepup rather than a con focus. good players in key positions show something every 2-3 weeks max. This is with and without the ball. The best show it most weeks. Brooks/Laurie/AD should be in the good class so we are due against teams that we are very comparable with.

 

[Bring back Olaf Prattl]

Don't disagree but I think we've spent too many years trying to build a team around LB with what's available on the secondary market treating him as the marquee player. There is no doubting his loyalty and enthusiasm but the club and his management have elevated his profile beyond his ability. With the new players taking the leadership roles there is the opportunity for him to improve his game but it's pretty bare outside him which may make it hard to look good. (In saying that if we can get our second rowers to play like Kautoga and Tumeth in the KOE game last weekend, Brooks and Douehi would be SOO material ) future contracts even if he's the only half available should be closer to minimum wage. If there's no marked improvement in LB's game contracts should be a year at a time given his vintage, I don't think AD can change ( mixture of genius and disinterest depending on how the game's going ) he won't be a long term Tiger.

 

[tigerap]

Disclaimer: I'm having a bit of a stab here as I don't know Luke Brooks, and as a rural supporter I have to get all of my "inside knowledge" from WTF, reading between the lines on the internet and what I see on the idiot box.

Consistently we have heard from the media that the coaching staff "want Brooks at the club" or it is "Luke Brooks team". There must be some credence to the claims given it has been trolled out season after season. We have recently heard Benji and Sheens talk about how much effort he has put into the pre season and how they want him at the club. Over the years I have never heard any of our players say anything negative about him (well openly anyway). So there has to be something that we "the unwashed" are missing.

We have seen his game change over time - he has gone from being a reasonably dynamic player on debut to one dimensional under Madge. Even during the dark ages of Madge's reign we saw touches of the dynamic Brooks among some dour performances.

Why is it that supporters are baying for blood but LB is as consistently as clockwork selected in the team?

Let's take the monkey off the back of for a minute. If we look at the teams over the last ten years or so, for the most part, our rosters, year in and year out, would have been lucky to pull the skin off a wet custard. This isn't a LB issue this is poor management by the club and the selection committee. Naturally the focus is on the halfback and his decision making as he is the one out on the field. But it must be more than that. I mean five hit ups and a bomb under Madge with our roster was never a smart plan. But we executed it - week in week out and despite everyone outside calling for the blood of Brooks he had the full support of Madge. Why?

This is where I am going out on a limb. Is it because Brooks is a genuine team first player? Is he the kid that does exactly what the coach tells him to do to the letter? Does he rigidly stick to the game plan because that is what he has been told to deliver?

At the end of the season before last I wanted Brooks trained as a hooker over the off season to try and turn him into a Damian Cook type weapon. Why, because he was ineffective as a half and we had him on a long contract. Last season sort of confirmed it for me that as a halfback he was a shocker. I know I'm not alone in that camp.

But what if we have got it all wrong?

What if, he is that unselfish player that literally puts the team first? What if his continued selection is linked to his ability to execute exactly what the coaching staff have been asking for? I know... "he has had ten years to prove his worth" etc, etc, etc. OK, if he has been that bad why has coach after coach persisted with him?

We can only surmise that the coaching staff are being delivered what they have been asking for. Otherwise he would surely be gone as this is a professional sport (although you would wonder at times the way we have been managed).

I saw a different LB last week to the one we were accustomed to seeing over the last four seasons. Sure it was clunky and there were mistakes but if he has been asked to play eyes up footy (which I think they all have) and make the most of second phase play he may have some upside. He hasn't played footy for a long while due to injury but last week we almost immediately started to see him run the ball - doing exactly what Sheens said he wanted him to do during the off season interviews.

Sure, he made some poor choices, he threw some shocking passes and his game was clunky; but it was a significant change from what we saw from him last year. Have LB and AD, been given permission to play eyes up football and pop up on either side of the field supporting each other? I hope so - I though we saw a couple of glimpses of that last week in an otherwise average attacking performance.

I expect to be lynched - but I think he and AD need a few together before we feed him to the sharks.

I know we all want instant success, I said all along, give Brooks till RD8 before we judge him….

 

[The Fresh Oil]

I know we all want instant success, I said all along, give Brooks till RD8 before we judge him….

Don’t think there’s much choice at this stage. Just say 20 hail Benji’s before bed and pray.

 

[stevied]

As I said on the Team List thread, give Brooks until Round 4 to cut his schoolboy errors and provide leadership in the team. There have been enough excuses provided and opportunities given. A few games in KOE Cup could build his confidence, which I think is his main problem and area holding him back. He simply cannot deal with the pressure to produce the right play, especially now that the team behind him is stronger.

 

[Jolls]

Don't disagree but I think we've spent too many years trying to build a team around LB with what's available on the secondary market treating him as the marquee player.

I agree, he isn't the player to build the team around and I think we will be hurt this season with a lack of real strike in the backs; however, we have set ourselves up for a much improved 2024 should we manage to land a couple.

He is playing for his career so I trust we see a vast improvement on what we saw last week. Despite the flaws last week the one positive is that he is running and looking to do something. Now we just need to add some Benji and Sheens magic to that and we will be sweet (in a world full of unicorns, dragons and fairies).