Luke Brooks

[bigsiro]

I think Brooks is fine, he's not a match winner or a leader, he's a role player. You need those sorts of players. I'd take him over most halves in the game. The trouble is our expectations for him are too high. Most halves look good when the team is going well and don't look good when they're not and he's one of those. Very few players (Cam Smith, Cooper Cronk, DCE, Thurston, Benji, Shaun Johnson) are able to actually change the momentum of a game with their brilliance and he's definitely not one of them. But as for dumping him, who is his replacement out there? Where are you buying a better player from? It's frustrating watching him play badly in a match like tonight, but it's only a reflection of where this team was at in terms of organisation and attack. People flat footed, Grant doing circles, Reynolds doing three things at once and Brooks confused and a bit uncertain about what to do. It was ugly tonight, and so was his performance, but there's no better option and he's still better than most and not the problem in this team.

Arguably the most inane post I’ve read here in 10+ years.

Bit harsh.

Is it?

 

[tigerballs]

I think Brooks is fine, he's not a match winner or a leader, he's a role player. You need those sorts of players. I'd take him over most halves in the game. The trouble is our expectations for him are too high. Most halves look good when the team is going well and don't look good when they're not and he's one of those. Very few players (Cam Smith, Cooper Cronk, DCE, Thurston, Benji, Shaun Johnson) are able to actually change the momentum of a game with their brilliance and he's definitely not one of them. But as for dumping him, who is his replacement out there? Where are you buying a better player from? It's frustrating watching him play badly in a match like tonight, but it's only a reflection of where this team was at in terms of organisation and attack. People flat footed, Grant doing circles, Reynolds doing three things at once and Brooks confused and a bit uncertain about what to do. It was ugly tonight, and so was his performance, but there's no better option and he's still better than most and not the problem in this team.

Arguably the most inane post I’ve read here in 10+ years.

Bit harsh.

Is it?

I think Brooks is fine, he's not a match winner or a leader, he's a role player. You need those sorts of players. I'd take him over most halves in the game. The trouble is our expectations for him are too high. Most halves look good when the team is going well and don't look good when they're not and he's one of those. Very few players (Cam Smith, Cooper Cronk, DCE, Thurston, Benji, Shaun Johnson) are able to actually change the momentum of a game with their brilliance and he's definitely not one of them. But as for dumping him, who is his replacement out there? Where are you buying a better player from? It's frustrating watching him play badly in a match like tonight, but it's only a reflection of where this team was at in terms of organisation and attack. People flat footed, Grant doing circles, Reynolds doing three things at once and Brooks confused and a bit uncertain about what to do. It was ugly tonight, and so was his performance, but there's no better option and he's still better than most and not the problem in this team.

Arguably the most inane post I’ve read here in 10+ years.

Bit harsh.

Is it?

Brooks missed the first two games of the season with a what was reported as a bad hammy. It's common knowledge it wasn't a hammy but something else that could have kept him out for much longer.

 

[innsaneink]

He's not a dominant half. We need a Maloney style half to complement him. If we can't get that player he will flounder.

I think you're right CB.
Will never question his ticker or talent but he really doesn't seem to inspire

 

[innsaneink]

I think Brooks is fine, he's not a match winner or a leader, he's a role player. You need those sorts of players. I'd take him over most halves in the game. The trouble is our expectations for him are too high. Most halves look good when the team is going well and don't look good when they're not and he's one of those. Very few players (Cam Smith, Cooper Cronk, DCE, Thurston, Benji, Shaun Johnson) are able to actually change the momentum of a game with their brilliance and he's definitely not one of them. But as for dumping him, who is his replacement out there? Where are you buying a better player from? It's frustrating watching him play badly in a match like tonight, but it's only a reflection of where this team was at in terms of organisation and attack. People flat footed, Grant doing circles, Reynolds doing three things at once and Brooks confused and a bit uncertain about what to do. It was ugly tonight, and so was his performance, but there's no better option and he's still better than most and not the problem in this team.

Arguably the most inane post I’ve read here in 10+ years.

Bit harsh.

Is it?

I think Brooks is fine, he's not a match winner or a leader, he's a role player. You need those sorts of players. I'd take him over most halves in the game. The trouble is our expectations for him are too high. Most halves look good when the team is going well and don't look good when they're not and he's one of those. Very few players (Cam Smith, Cooper Cronk, DCE, Thurston, Benji, Shaun Johnson) are able to actually change the momentum of a game with their brilliance and he's definitely not one of them. But as for dumping him, who is his replacement out there? Where are you buying a better player from? It's frustrating watching him play badly in a match like tonight, but it's only a reflection of where this team was at in terms of organisation and attack. People flat footed, Grant doing circles, Reynolds doing three things at once and Brooks confused and a bit uncertain about what to do. It was ugly tonight, and so was his performance, but there's no better option and he's still better than most and not the problem in this team.

Arguably the most inane post I’ve read here in 10+ years.

Bit harsh.

Is it?

Brooks missed the first two games of the season with a what was reported as a bad hammy. It's common knowledge it wasn't a hammy **but something else** that could have kept him out for much longer.

What was that?

 

[Geo]

People have been saying that Brooks won’t shine unless the forwards win the battle. Well the forwards did pretty well for about 65 mins (until Packer killed it) and Brooks still didn’t shine. No more excuses. The new rule should suit him down to the ground, a running halfback and still he doesn’t shine. He had an exceptional season a couple of years ago but cannot reproduce that form. I’ll be disappointed if he is in the side next week.

We weren't winning the ruck , but we hung in their

Does he have an injury ..the few times he took on the line he was slow ..slower than I've ever seen him

There were times we were winning and bending them back. Not a lot of times mind you, but they are the opportunities you need to grab. Brooks didn’t. Not sure if he’s injured. To me he looks scared as if he is going to be found out. I might be reading to much into that but he certainly doesn’t fill you with confidence.

Yeah he seems to have far less confidence when we play sides with far bigger forward packs

Brooks is here until when ........2022 or 2023

He has also played the most games without a finals appearance .....

There is a reason for that ! The coach will be long gone before he sees out his contract ..

Hope the next Coach doesn't extend his deal like the current coach did...

 

[mike]

How do you see talk and communications when you watch the game on TV?

With your eyes and ears.

 

[weststigerman]

He's not the problem. He's certainly not a top 5 half, but I don't think the origin half on the other team did any better.

We really suck at forward momentum, I lost count of the times we would start to get some go forward momentum only to lose it all with a Nofa sideways run or Seyfarth getting smashed.

 

[Cairnstigers]

Pretty typical on here
We win and everyone is happy
We loose and the knives and boots are out
I can be a little guilty of that myself at times
It shows how passionate we all are about our team
We want to win
Some of the criticism is very harsh on our players and coach
I didn't get to see the game last night but I am happy it was a close result
Take into account that Packer gave away a penalty for a foul and Raiders scored while he was off, then we did very well against last years grandfinalist
We made 5 new changes from last week
Reynolds had his first game in a long time and a good one at that
(Bulldogs will come sniffing now)
Talau 124 meters (almost double of Cottric) and he is just starting his career in 1st grade
Doueihi 251 meters (most on ground) and just starting to settle in to the Fullback roll
Twal and Aloiai both very solid again (consistent)
Reynolds is back and a player we need to leed the chase and provides an extra spark
Our only real disappointment last night was Packer
This is where we sink the 🥾🥾🥾 in
A brain snap the costs us 8 points
Overall we should be happy with the performance of our team
It was one player that really let us down last night
Only changes for next week IMO are
Packer < Garner
MCK < Clark

 

[Tcat]

Pretty typical on here
We win and everyone is happy
We loose and the knives and boots are out
I can be a little guilty of that myself at times
It shows how passionate we all are about our team
We want to win
Some of the criticism is very harsh on our players and coach
I didn't get to see the game last night but I am happy it was a close result
Take into account that Packer gave away a penalty for a foul and Raiders scored while he was off, then we did very well against last years grandfinalist
We made 5 new changes from last week
Reynolds had his first game in a long time and a good one at that
(Bulldogs will come sniffing now)
Talau 124 meters (almost double of Cottric) and he is just starting his career in 1st grade
Doueihi 251 meters (most on ground) and just starting to settle in to the Fullback roll
Twal and Aloiai both very solid again (consistent)
Reynolds is back and a player we need to leed the chase and provides an extra spark
Our only real disappointment last night was Packer
This is where we sink the 🥾🥾🥾 in
A brain snap the costs us 8 points
Overall we should be happy with the performance of our team
It was one player that really let us down last night
Only changes for next week IMO are
Packer < Garner
MCK < Clark

I wouldn't swap MCK for Clark. Not with Seyfarth in the team. You can't have Clark and Seyfarth in the same team atm.

 

[tony soprano]

Catch 22 let’s not forget how good brooks is doing defensively. Yes he lacks leadership in attack but got to Remember the affect it may have on defence.

How would benji go defending at 7 might have to have Reynolds defend where brooks was.

 

[Snake]

People have been saying that Brooks won’t shine unless the forwards win the battle. Well the forwards did pretty well for about 65 mins (until Packer killed it) and Brooks still didn’t shine. No more excuses. The new rule should suit him down to the ground, a running halfback and still he doesn’t shine. He had an exceptional season a couple of years ago but cannot reproduce that form. I’ll be disappointed if he is in the side next week.

We weren't winning the ruck , but we hung in their

Does he have an injury ..the few times he took on the line he was slow ..slower than I've ever seen him

There were times we were winning and bending them back. Not a lot of times mind you, but they are the opportunities you need to grab. Brooks didn’t. Not sure if he’s injured. To me he looks scared as if he is going to be found out. I might be reading to much into that but he certainly doesn’t fill you with confidence.

Yeah he seems to have far less confidence when we play sides with far bigger forward packs

Brooks is here until when ........2022 or 2023

He has also played the most games without a finals appearance .....

There is a reason for that ! The coach will be long gone before he sees out his contract ..

Hope the next Coach doesn't extend his deal like the current coach did...

My tip Madge will wish he didn’t..

 

[happy_tiger]

Again it's a case of us signing good players .....

But this is a team game and that team HAS to gel

Brooks doesn't gel with Reynolds or Marshall

Douehi doesn't gel with the style of Grant

And then we have the whole Huth , Seyfarth and Clark situation

Of the three Huth is easily the best of the game they play ...he doesn't get dominated in attack like the other two do ...and is better defensively

We still have no sting on our edges ...Lucy is a step in the right direction ..but we are using him as a 80 minute player ...he loses his effectiveness

Brooks and Garner looked like they were building some good combos last season ...where the hell has that gone

Joey has shown little from what we saw in the Warriors trial ...Mbye isn't getting quality ball in attacking situations

Talau looked good last night and hopefully he gets a chance to string some games together ....Nofoaluma is getting away from what makes him a good running winger ...he loses effectiveness when he changes direction ...he is far better off using some footwork at the line and try and get quicker play the balls

Many are saying we are 2-3 players away from a good side .....I don't think so ...many of these guys don't gel

We need to go back to the start ...show faith in Madge .....give him some latitude to build a good squad around some key signings

This squad is so far away from a premiership it's not funny in my opinion

 

[Harvey]

Most halves have strike players or players that will break the line.

He put Luci into gaps a couple of time with good balls, but his options are limited.

Out the back to Doueihi who takes about a minute to decide what to do next.

In saying that the thing I am most disappointed about this year is his kicking game. Short and long has been average. I was expecting the 20/40 to be something he could take advantage of.

 

[Guest]

Brooks definitely needs a spell, that much is clear. Whether it be throwing Benji into 7 to partner Josh, or give Madden a go, I don't mind but Brooks game management is ordinary and our attack is clunky. Neither of our centres get great ball and that needs to change ASAP.

 

[Geo]

Again it's a case of us signing good players .....

But this is a team game and that team HAS to gel

Brooks doesn't gel with Reynolds or Marshall

Douehi doesn't gel with the style of Grant

And then we have the whole Huth , Seyfarth and Clark situation

Of the three Huth is easily the best of the game they play ...he doesn't get dominated in attack like the other two do ...and is better defensively

We still have no sting on our edges ...Lucy is a step in the right direction ..but we are using him as a 80 minute player ...he loses his effectiveness

Brooks and Garner looked like they were building some good combos last season ...where the hell has that gone

Joey has shown little from what we saw in the Warriors trial ...Mbye isn't getting quality ball in attacking situations

Talau looked good last night and hopefully he gets a chance to string some games together ....Nofoaluma is getting away from what makes him a good running winger ...he loses effectiveness when he changes direction ...he is far better off using some footwork at the line and try and get quicker play the balls

Many are saying we are 2-3 players away from a good side .....I don't think so ...many of these guys don't gel

We need to go back to the start ...show faith in Madge .....give him some latitude to build a good squad around some key signings

This squad is so far away from a premiership it's not funny in my opinion

You won’t get much of a chance to build anything if you change the team every second week

 

[happy_tiger]

Brooks definitely needs a spell, that much is clear. Whether it be throwing Benji into 7 to partner Josh, or give Madden a go, I don't mind but Brooks game management is ordinary and our attack is clunky. Neither of our centres get great ball and that needs to change ASAP.

The only other reason for the way we are playing the way we are could be Madge being OCD about completing our sets atm (sorry didn't think that would come up as a swear word lol )

 

[bptiger]

I would like to see Benji at 7 and give brooks a running role at 6 . He has the speed .

 

[Harvey]

We have no dynamic forwards, you need to have the other team moving backwards to create space to attack.

Twal produces big stats and you need a few players like that, but he does not bend the line, break tackles and leave defenders in his wake. We have too many solid players and not enough strike players.

I am also going to take aim at Madge:
- His use of the bench is terrible. Some of our forwards are playing too many minutes and conserving energy (bludging in attack) to ensure that they are able to play minutes
- The forwards are too one out. There are no options or link play and the opposition can focus on the runner, get people in the tackle and slow the play the ball, killing any momentum.
- Inside the oppositions 20 we seem more about completing sets than attacking. We continue to go one out and then look for a kick or repeat set. We do not throw anything at opposition defences. We can only attack down one side as Mbye completely kills any attack down his side of the field. At least he does not miss tackles.

 

[Russell]

So Brooks is the new Jennings now...
The 7 can be a role player. Sezer lastcyear was a role player in the Raiders team last year same as Townsend for Sharks.
Hindsiggt is a wonderful thing but looks like we let the wrong half go in Moses

No we didn't.

Don't care how good or bad he is........At least he is not a "lowlife Tanker."

 

[mike]

Again it's a case of us signing good players .....

But this is a team game and that team HAS to gel

Brooks doesn't gel with Reynolds or Marshall

Douehi doesn't gel with the style of Grant

And then we have the whole Huth , Seyfarth and Clark situation

Of the three Huth is easily the best of the game they play ...he doesn't get dominated in attack like the other two do ...and is better defensively

We still have no sting on our edges ...Lucy is a step in the right direction ..but we are using him as a 80 minute player ...he loses his effectiveness

Brooks and Garner looked like they were building some good combos last season ...where the hell has that gone

Joey has shown little from what we saw in the Warriors trial ...Mbye isn't getting quality ball in attacking situations

Talau looked good last night and hopefully he gets a chance to string some games together ....Nofoaluma is getting away from what makes him a good running winger ...he loses effectiveness when he changes direction ...he is far better off using some footwork at the line and try and get quicker play the balls

Many are saying we are 2-3 players away from a good side .....I don't think so ...many of these guys don't gel

We need to go back to the start ...show faith in Madge .....give him some latitude to build a good squad around some key signings

This squad is so far away from a premiership it's not funny in my opinion

You won’t get much of a chance to build anything if you change the team every second week

This year is a write off. We’ll be lucky not to come 15th. You might as well use this year as an experiment and try different combinations and see what combinations work and which ones don’t.