When asked whether he was enjoying playing in the NRL, Luke Brooks barely even hesitated. There was a slight delay — but only for a sheepish grin to come across his face — and then the words quickly began to spill out.
“You know no idea,” he said.
“I just love it.”
Welcome to the life of Luke Brooks, NRL player.
It’s a story that will no doubt be scripted and written and re-written again a hundred times before the day that the 19-year-old ends his NRL career.
And even though the story only has a few pages in it so far, it’s already shaping as a read that few fans — if any — will ever be able to put down.
Following on from his memorable debut against St. George-Illawarra Dragons, Brooks’ first full year in the NRL has been, in his own words, “a bit up and down.”
His strong trial form against the Cronulla Sharks quickly faded away as the Club suffered a first-start loss against the Dragons in Round 1, but then returned for the following rounds.
Guided by one of the most dominant forward packs in the league, Wests Tigers and Brooks went on to win five of their next six matches against the likes of South Sydney Rabbitohs and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and climbed their way into the top-four.
A tough afternoon at Leichhardt Oval in Round 8 against the Gold Coast Titans saw the joint-venture Club suffer their third defeat of the season — allowing Brooks to experience the full range of emotions in just eight games of football.
“It’s been a full-on start to the year,” said Brooks. “It’s been a bit up and down.”
“I’ve had a couple of good games and then a couple of not so good games.
"As a team, we’ve been doing really well, though, and hopefully we can just keep that going throughout the year with a bit more consistency.”
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Despite scoring a key length-of-the-field try after half-time and kicking the match-winning field goal in the final minutes of play, Brooks still pits the match against Parramatta Eels in Round 7 as the hardest he’s been involved in this year.
“Hardest game? Definitely against Parramatta,” he said.
“It was just so hard to get a roll on at all. So physical, so much of a grind.”
In many ways, such a response typifies the type of player, and teammate, that Brooks is.
Regardless of the personal endorsements and achievements that might fall his way, the young halfback isn’t looking to savour or seek anything but team success.
Even in a match hallmarked by two personal moments of brilliance, the doggedness of that Round 7 match still sticks out to Brooks the most.
“It’s tempting to get caught up in it all,” said Brooks, who admits he doesn’t read the newspaper anymore, “but at the same time, I don’t really take any of it in.”
“I’ve got a good family that helps me stay grounded in myself.
“I’ve got a really good family that helps me stay grounded in myself…"
“All my mates and the boys here at the Club help me stay grounded as well so it’s actually pretty easy not go get carried away with it all.”
Brooks also emphasised just how important the Club’s retention of youngsters and local juniors has been in his development — both on and off the field.
“I think it’s good to keep the young guys at our Club,” he said.
“All the young guys… we’ve played together during our junior footy and we’ve got those combinations together which is good.
“All the young boys have been doing well so it’s good to keep them and build those combinations together. It’s been really helpful for me, knowing that I have those guys around me to help me during the game.”
As strong as Brooks has been in those games, though, he’ll be the first to admit that they haven’t been without blemish. His defence and long kicking game have come under heavy scrutiny from several critics, but the former Holy Cross playmaker said that he welcomes the feedback that he gets — stating that he knows what he needs to work on in his game.
“I’ve been working on my defence each week at training,” he said.
“I think it’s improving but I know I’ve still got try and cut out those missed tackles and keep working on my technique with it.
“The coaching staff and some of the older guys in the team are really good at helping me see what I need to keep working on.”
And so he keeps working, with his next job coming next weekend against the defending premiers at their fortress, Allianz Stadium.
“It’ll be a big game for all of us next Friday night against the Roosters,” he said.
“They’re a really good team and it’ll be a tough game no doubt. Hopefully it’s a big crowd because it’ll be a tough game and a big test for us.”
“The body’s feeling good; good to get a rest and freshen up a bit now.
“All about getting ready for the Roosters, now.”
That’s just the life of Luke Brooks, NRL player.
“You know no idea,” he said.
“I just love it.”
Welcome to the life of Luke Brooks, NRL player.
It’s a story that will no doubt be scripted and written and re-written again a hundred times before the day that the 19-year-old ends his NRL career.
And even though the story only has a few pages in it so far, it’s already shaping as a read that few fans — if any — will ever be able to put down.
Following on from his memorable debut against St. George-Illawarra Dragons, Brooks’ first full year in the NRL has been, in his own words, “a bit up and down.”
His strong trial form against the Cronulla Sharks quickly faded away as the Club suffered a first-start loss against the Dragons in Round 1, but then returned for the following rounds.
Guided by one of the most dominant forward packs in the league, Wests Tigers and Brooks went on to win five of their next six matches against the likes of South Sydney Rabbitohs and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and climbed their way into the top-four.
A tough afternoon at Leichhardt Oval in Round 8 against the Gold Coast Titans saw the joint-venture Club suffer their third defeat of the season — allowing Brooks to experience the full range of emotions in just eight games of football.
“It’s been a full-on start to the year,” said Brooks. “It’s been a bit up and down.”
“I’ve had a couple of good games and then a couple of not so good games.
"As a team, we’ve been doing really well, though, and hopefully we can just keep that going throughout the year with a bit more consistency.”
\
\
Despite scoring a key length-of-the-field try after half-time and kicking the match-winning field goal in the final minutes of play, Brooks still pits the match against Parramatta Eels in Round 7 as the hardest he’s been involved in this year.
“Hardest game? Definitely against Parramatta,” he said.
“It was just so hard to get a roll on at all. So physical, so much of a grind.”
In many ways, such a response typifies the type of player, and teammate, that Brooks is.
Regardless of the personal endorsements and achievements that might fall his way, the young halfback isn’t looking to savour or seek anything but team success.
Even in a match hallmarked by two personal moments of brilliance, the doggedness of that Round 7 match still sticks out to Brooks the most.
“It’s tempting to get caught up in it all,” said Brooks, who admits he doesn’t read the newspaper anymore, “but at the same time, I don’t really take any of it in.”
“I’ve got a good family that helps me stay grounded in myself.
“I’ve got a really good family that helps me stay grounded in myself…"
“All my mates and the boys here at the Club help me stay grounded as well so it’s actually pretty easy not go get carried away with it all.”
Brooks also emphasised just how important the Club’s retention of youngsters and local juniors has been in his development — both on and off the field.
“I think it’s good to keep the young guys at our Club,” he said.
“All the young guys… we’ve played together during our junior footy and we’ve got those combinations together which is good.
“All the young boys have been doing well so it’s good to keep them and build those combinations together. It’s been really helpful for me, knowing that I have those guys around me to help me during the game.”
As strong as Brooks has been in those games, though, he’ll be the first to admit that they haven’t been without blemish. His defence and long kicking game have come under heavy scrutiny from several critics, but the former Holy Cross playmaker said that he welcomes the feedback that he gets — stating that he knows what he needs to work on in his game.
“I’ve been working on my defence each week at training,” he said.
“I think it’s improving but I know I’ve still got try and cut out those missed tackles and keep working on my technique with it.
“The coaching staff and some of the older guys in the team are really good at helping me see what I need to keep working on.”
And so he keeps working, with his next job coming next weekend against the defending premiers at their fortress, Allianz Stadium.
“It’ll be a big game for all of us next Friday night against the Roosters,” he said.
“They’re a really good team and it’ll be a tough game no doubt. Hopefully it’s a big crowd because it’ll be a tough game and a big test for us.”
“The body’s feeling good; good to get a rest and freshen up a bit now.
“All about getting ready for the Roosters, now.”
That’s just the life of Luke Brooks, NRL player.
