Would you have said that Thurston and Cronk would have played so ordinary for a large portion of the season as they did??
While Im not saying that Brooks hasn’t improved a lot, you can’t get over excited about the fact that he was better than Thurston and to a lesser extent Cronk , when they were both struggling for a big part of the year,,
And no ones belittling what Brooks has done this year, **but it’s when you start to use Thurston and Cronk as. A Yardstick; your argument gets a bit hollow.**
Brooks Has had a very good year and should be really proud of that, but I think that he’ wouldn’t be making too much out of the fact that he outpolled two very out of form champions.
Most of the half’s this year were playing better than Thurston up until the last few weeks
Ok so i shouldn't use the two best halves in the world as a yardstick. You say Thurston was ordinary yet he was no. 1 in try assists and linebreak assists for 2018\. Cronk although not up to his Melbourne level was no 1 in kicks and kick metres plus i don't think his experience can be understated as a factor in the rorters making the grand final.
So youre saying, that up to the last few games, that Thurston wasnt giving a great impersonation of a player who'd had one season too many
and Cronk was being called a dud buy from many ,
Thurston has been the best half in the world for a long while. but you would have to be be pretty one eyed to say that in the season just ended he was.
Im far from the only one that was questioning his decision to continue this year. for most of the season it was justified,
he got into gear in the last few games and was back closer to his best then,
Im not one of those who were calling Cronk a dud buy for the Roosters either , but it took the greater part of the season, to get himself and the team on to the same page'
if you think that they were both at their best this year, go for it.
I just hope that Brooks is one day as good as those two at their best, he might do it, he might not.
But I think i wont be comparing him with them for a while yet, hes done well this year and doesnt need that sort of pressure on him.
If he can just continue the best that he can be , thats fine
Can’t disagree with that.
The common trait with the Dally M team of the year most years is the player that was in the best form that year generally gets it. Not necessarily the best player in the game but I don’t think many could argue against the fact that Brooks was the most consistent half this year. Each week he had a decent game.
Funnily though his tally of 26 came from two games of 1 point each (one when we were smashed by the raiders) and 8 games of 3 points which means he was only brilliant for a third of the season but in the games he tally’d Dally M points in, he was far and away the best player on field.
Be nice to see how good he can get. I think the sky’s the limit for him.
His game understanding is not up there with other half’s in the game but he seems to be a really good student. When asked on the NRL tonight show they asked him “when you watch an NRL game, do you see it differently as a player compared to the average punter”? I’m sure that question was mean’t as though do you see holes in the defence easier, or call the play before the team puts it on, which you know if it was Moses he’d give a cocky analysis of the game. A humble Brooks instead simply stated “I generally watch the halves, I watch how they set up the plays and manage the team around the park”. Which indicated to me he is still a student of the game and doesn’t think he is a big shot.
I’m sure if you asked him if he was the best half back this year he himself would struggle to agree with it!
