Luke Brooks

[crazycat]

Seriously, there is not a half in the world that would have looked good in the Tigers side last year.We had forwards who had little forward momentum and soft in defence.JA was our best and he was ok but not anything special.Our backline was lacking penetration and was slow.We had no fullback,no goalkicker,and a bunch of guys who would be lucky to survive in the CC comp,who we kept moving around on the hope they might make some impact.

I disagree so if the forwards were that bad last season .. why was Grant such a sensation ? You either have the the goods or not that is as simple as it gets . Yes a stronger pack makes a 7’s job easier but a 7 that has the goods will always stand out ! This rubbish about the forward pack is just falsely



Grant played with the same so called dud forwards that Brooks played with. Grant looked like a champ .. Brooks well you either have it or you don’t!
The champs stand out whether there playing with champs or chumps that’s always been the way .

They played with the same dud forwards - yes.

But Grant wasn't playing half.

He did when Liddle came off the bench ......

I thought he played lock ?????

Well he did ...but he was playing in the 1st receiver role

We played our best footy then too. The more he has the ball the better we went


All he needs is a good 5/8 because he’s never had one. Might get that this year.

Ah NO.
When you get Benji Marshall and Josh Reynolds backing you at 5/8 you don't get that excuse.

As the other answer has said. Brooks needs a forward pack that Goes forward.
Also he did not combine well with Harry

Seriously, there is not a half in the world that would have looked good in the Tigers side last year.We had forwards who had little forward momentum and soft in defence.JA was our best and he was ok but not anything special.Our backline was lacking penetration and was slow.We had no fullback,no goalkicker,and a bunch of guys who would be lucky to survive in the CC comp,who we kept moving around on the hope they might make some impact.

I disagree so if the forwards were that bad last season .. why was Grant such a sensation ? You either have the the goods or not that is as simple as it gets . Yes a stronger pack makes a 7’s job easier but a 7 that has the goods will always stand out ! This rubbish about the forward pack is just falsely



Grant played with the same so called dud forwards that Brooks played with. Grant looked like a champ .. Brooks well you either have it or you don’t!
The champs stand out whether there playing with champs or chumps that’s always been the way .

They played with the same dud forwards - yes.

But Grant wasn't playing half.

He did when Liddle came off the bench ......

I thought he played lock ?????

Well he did ...but he was playing in the 1st receiver role

We played our best footy then too. The more he has the ball the better we went


All he needs is a good 5/8 because he’s never had one. Might get that this year.

Ah NO!

When you have Josh Reynolds and Benji Marshall at 5/8 you don't get that excuse.

As the other reply said. Brooks needs a forward pack to give him room so he isn't defending every game. Our forwards tried but we did not have a competitive pack last year, why are we surprised that we are not effective starting from 80m out instead of 40?

Brooks also did not combine well with Harry.
I don't know why, Harry did throw it to Marshall a lot more, but it hurt Brooks season last year.

It is down to Brooks this year. Personally I think Brooks should shift to 5/8 and we get a more team organising/structural halfback. But that's my idea.

Either way Brooks has to show himself this year. I reckon if uninjured he can do this.

 

[BAGNF05]

Has there ever been a player given so many excuses for under performing as Brooks?
He's got talent but obviously not much nous.
Keep taking the wrong options this year and he'll be saying goodbye.
Looks like we might finally have a younger halfback to put some pressure on him.

He hasnt under performed though !!! He had 8 bad games , and the knives came out , after winning our player of the year and dally m the 2 years prior. It’s more a reflection on you , in your expectations . They’re unrealistic to the max .

Is 3 try assists good enough to be playing halfback in the NRL?

Yes or No

Yes. Teams that depend on the final pass from only one player get servely out played when they are completely relied upon.
Use the Cowboys as an example.
I’m not going to say anymore other than 2015 may have been Thurstons year. But it was also the 3rd or 4th year from when the cowboys finally put together a ‘Complete’ team that wasn’t dependant on one player.

Wow, ok, you must be easily pleased, you're following the right club then.
I'm glad you're not the coach

I'm sure the coach is over the moon with his halfbacks 3 try assists for the season.
That's why he didn't drop him

No mate I’m not easily pleased.
I’m a long time suffering WestsTigers fan that has been hoping for glory every since our 05 side was assembled.
Frustrated for the following 15 years watching our team try and circumnavigate 1 star player in Quentin Benji Marshall...
It’s no coincidence that we had our next best year from 05 in 10 and 11 when we had a much stronger forward pack and some speed in our backs.
Do you remember that player Lote Tuqiri? He was on the back of plenty of well orchestrated backline plays involving the whole team.
Not to mention that Yorky Bloke Ellis.
Let’s not forget how great Robert Liu looked during those two seasons also.

Well said mate, too many people think a number 7 owns the result. Without good forwards he’s just a little guy in a jersey.

 

[Lauren]

Has there ever been a player given so many excuses for under performing as Brooks?
He's got talent but obviously not much nous.
Keep taking the wrong options this year and he'll be saying goodbye.
Looks like we might finally have a younger halfback to put some pressure on him.

The excuses just keep rolling in it seems.

It Grants service
It's Benji
It's our forwards
It's the game plan
It's the coach
It's the bus driver
It's his mum not putting enough Vegemite on his toast
It's the weather
It's the culture
It's Mabo
It's the serenity
It's Brooks life matters
It's covid
It's the price of Bananas after a cyclone
It's the colour of his boots
It's the ball
It's the refs
It's the vibe
It's the media putting big wraps on him too early
It's his carspot at training
It's single mums
It's the phase of the moon
It's Demons
It's the Devil

3 try assists,
C'mon Lukey boy you can do better mate.

Is there a halfback under more pressure in 2021?

You are not the only fan disappointed with how his career has gone. But please be more reasonable in your assessment.
Can you name one halfback who would've been competent in taking this team to the finals over the last 7 years? Or capable of making us a Top 4 quality team in the same period? A halfback good enough to elevate this whole team?
Because I'm not sure if I'm following you correctly and it sounds like you think Brooks is a big failure for not successfully doing this by now.
That would've been a complete miracle, considering the sole responsibility doesn't fall on one player but rather how the team is made up and plays as a unit. The most ever-changing one in the NRL, at that. With the coaching instability to go with it.

Fair enough you feel a certain way and think he's unable to lead the team to glory but some of your points relate to factors which are not of Luke's account and exclude the biggest reason or highest contributing factors on why teams are excelling. (They have had dominant forward packs, well established combinations with their spine players, great strike players etc., etc.).
I believe the last time we had a team that closely resembled this was in 2010 and 2011.
So, it's any wonder the trajectory of his development and career has gone so wayward given the inconsistency has always been at foundation level.
Honestly don't see how any player in his position could've thrived in this environment. I otherwise couldn't agree more you though, that last year should be the biggest wake up call for him.

 

[Harvey]

Harry Grant is average. He couldn't get us to the finals & he got his hands on the ball more than anyone.

 

[Deleted member 3518]

Has there ever been a player given so many excuses for under performing as Brooks?
He's got talent but obviously not much nous.
Keep taking the wrong options this year and he'll be saying goodbye.
Looks like we might finally have a younger halfback to put some pressure on him.

He hasnt under performed though !!! He had 8 bad games , and the knives came out , after winning our player of the year and dally m the 2 years prior. It’s more a reflection on you , in your expectations . They’re unrealistic to the max .

Is 3 try assists good enough to be playing halfback in the NRL?

Yes or No

It was one season he played well the previous 2. Seriously ? Oi know I’ve had some bad years where it was one thing after the other , have you ? Maybe Lockdown did his head in ? Maybe his missus left him and his cat died and he just couldn’t get his act together?
Also he played pretty well the last few games coming into this year . He played like crap . No ones denying it , but statements like he never played well and “he has to prove it” are garbage . He’s already done that .

 

[Deleted member 3518]

Has there ever been a player given so many excuses for under performing as Brooks?
He's got talent but obviously not much nous.
Keep taking the wrong options this year and he'll be saying goodbye.
Looks like we might finally have a younger halfback to put some pressure on him.

He hasnt under performed though !!! He had 8 bad games , and the knives came out , after winning our player of the year and dally m the 2 years prior. It’s more a reflection on you , in your expectations . They’re unrealistic to the max .

My expectation is that he play consistantly at a reliable level for a first grade halfback... not too unrealistic.
He's been in the top grade for 6 years and it has been filled with only enough stand out games you could count on one hand.
By your own estimation our teams over the last few years have been rubbish, so Brooks getting our player of the year medal is no big deal.
Dally M half of the year?
Like Nofo getting the winger of the year.... neither has a snowflakes hope in hell of getting picked in a rep team, with multiple choices above both of them.
Both are ok players ... but you need your half to really stand up if you want to get anywhere.

What the hell are you talking about ? Did you go to sleep in April 2017 and wake back up in may 2020? That statement is utter tripe .
I said last year and actually really 8-12 games . He won our player of the year in 2019 .

 

[Russell]

Brooks had 3 !!!!! try assists last year.

Yes 3

Yeah! Brilliant observation No go forward,no attacking FB. A DH that fed one side,a backline that was slow and never beat a man one on one,and a 5/8 that at times showed skill but could not tackle.JC himself would have thrown his hands up.What about the other 16 players that took the field ?

C'mon, I could put more than 3 people over by flukes, stop the excuses, he's an underperformer.

Let's look at the try assists from the halfbacks of teams that finished below us last season.

Dragons - Hunt - 7
Manly - DCE - 20
Cowboys - Clifford - 5
Dogs - Lewis - 8
Broncos - Dearden - 3

Still want to make excuses that it was the rest of the teams fault that Brooks had 3 try assists?

(The same as the half of the wooden spooners)

Fogarty from the Titans came from Burleigh and got thrown into the NRL in Rd 3 and still got 10 try assists.

Drew Hutchison who only played 5 games got 2 try assists.

Flanigan who got the chop got 11 try assists.

Let's look at the top try assists for comparison.

Johnson - 23
DCE - 20
Cleary - 17
Williams - 15
Hughes - 15

Any more excuses?

Good stats relating to other teams.
Other factors need to consider are,
Brooks was dropped for a few games based upon form.
Benji factor demanding the ball.
Forwards not making meters.

Not making excuses for Brooks clean slate this year let's see how he performs has in the past needs to show that with an improved roster and no Benji can step up.
Let's hope he can we have invested lots of time & $.

He's a dud mate, the quicker we realise he's not going to take us deep into the semi finals or win us a comp the better.

Let's give him an opportunity this year to show either way, i don't think that a reasonable thing to ask.

Put my nuts on it Brooks is shopped next season.

Bookmark this.

Oh, don't worry. We have.

 

[Russell]

What I would like to see in his game , is a little more of opportunism as we saw when kicking that FG to give his side a win

A number have made the point that the service to Brooks last year contributed to his disappointing season.

I think that the FG you refer to is an example of what Brooks can do with good service. The pass from Liddle was perfection. I came to Brooks so quickly and was so perfectly placed that he had plenty of time to nail it. Which he did with aplomb.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Liddle and Brooks combine this year. If the forwards can get some quick PTBs, then both will be in for a big year.

Liddle and Brooks have ALWAYS combined well. Given they have trained together now for 4 odd years you'd expect that but Liddles deceptively quick feet to scoop the ball off the ground, draw the markers in and get the forwards running full pelt can't be underestimated. This in turn puts opposition defense on the back foot just by certain little things due to liddles speed out of the ruck.
It also allows Brooks to run with freedom the next play.

Honestly Liddle reminds me of a young Farah it's just a shame he's had such an interupted career

And Grant wasn't doing this last season?

Brooks was playing off the back of arguably the best 9 the game has seen in quite a while, the kid is no joke, destroyed NSW in his origin debut.
And yet Brooks only managed 3 try assists.

Is Liddle better than Grant?

I don't understand how you got that in your head. I'm saying Liddles attributes contribute to better game play by Brooks, because they have known each other longer.

Grant is a brilliant player but we were miles away from making the 8 let's be honest, Id rather a team of performers than just a couple of stand outs, wouldn't you?

So you think Liddle will make Brooks a better player than Grant could?

It's always 'someone else' that is going to improve Brooks, have you noticed the theme yet?

I just don't know what you're trying to say, that's why I'm asking.


No I'm saying they play a different style of dummy half mate. And Brooks is much more accustomed to Liddle's style.

Do you honestly think Damien Cook and Cameron Smith's style of play is the same? no. That's what i'm trying to say with Liddle and Grant

So you think Brooks is more accustomed to Liddles style, but that "won't" make Brooks a better player? ?


You're confusing yourself at this point bud.

Anyone with an ounce of footy IQ knows that Brooks combined better with Liddle compared to Grant. Somehow you turned it into me thinking Grant Liddle which is not what I meant at all

Just answer the question, it's a yes or no answer.

I asked if you think Liddle would make Brooks a better player than Grant could?

And you said "No" Brooks is accustomed better to Liddles style.

So I asked
So you think Brooks is accustomed better to Liddles style, but that won't make him a better player?

Maybe I'll try again
Do you think Brooks will be a better player with Liddle at 9 than he was with Grant at 9?


C'mon, let's clear this up with a simple Yes or No

Yes I do, for starters.

 

[Deleted member 3518]

Brooks had 3 !!!!! try assists last year.

Yes 3

Yeah! Brilliant observation No go forward,no attacking FB. A DH that fed one side,a backline that was slow and never beat a man one on one,and a 5/8 that at times showed skill but could not tackle.JC himself would have thrown his hands up.What about the other 16 players that took the field ?

C'mon, I could put more than 3 people over by flukes, stop the excuses, he's an underperformer.

Let's look at the try assists from the halfbacks of teams that finished below us last season.

Dragons - Hunt - 7
Manly - DCE - 20
Cowboys - Clifford - 5
Dogs - Lewis - 8
Broncos - Dearden - 3

Still want to make excuses that it was the rest of the teams fault that Brooks had 3 try assists?

(The same as the half of the wooden spooners)

Fogarty from the Titans came from Burleigh and got thrown into the NRL in Rd 3 and still got 10 try assists.

Drew Hutchison who only played 5 games got 2 try assists.

Flanigan who got the chop got 11 try assists.

Let's look at the top try assists for comparison.

Johnson - 23
DCE - 20
Cleary - 17
Williams - 15
Hughes - 15

Any more excuses?

Sometimes I read your comments and think , does this guy really hate himself ? Cause nothing that happens around the team , which is basically on this forum , are you ever complimentary about . Do you have kids ? Are you this hard on them ? The dude wins halfback of the year , Nofa wins wing of the year , and guys are saying thier actually still crap , all the judges of the awards don’t know what thier talking about ! What’s more likely , that you need to change your outlook ,’or everyone else is wrong and bad judge ?

 

[Speed2burn]

Has there ever been a player given so many excuses for under performing as Brooks?
He's got talent but obviously not much nous.
Keep taking the wrong options this year and he'll be saying goodbye.
Looks like we might finally have a younger halfback to put some pressure on him.

He hasnt under performed though !!! He had 8 bad games , and the knives came out , after winning our player of the year and dally m the 2 years prior. It’s more a reflection on you , in your expectations . They’re unrealistic to the max .

Is 3 try assists good enough to be playing halfback in the NRL?

Yes or No

It was one season he played well the previous 2. Seriously ? Oi know I’ve had some bad years where it was one thing after the other , have you ? Maybe Lockdown did his head in ? Maybe his missus left him and his cat died and he just couldn’t get his act together?
**Also he played pretty well the last few games coming into this year . He played like crap . No ones denying it , but statements like he never played well and “he has to prove it” are garbage . He’s already done that .**

Honestly even in the last game against Parra, when Benji went down injured you could see Brook's authority on the game change. It felt like a glimpse into this year. The long ball hitting the chest of Lawrence to set up AJ, supporting players back inside etc. Short ball to Garner near the end. I don't believe he's ever lost his creative ability, it's just been restricted

 

[Deleted member 3518]

Also the rep thing for brooks . Can we put that to bed . Brooks won halfbavknof the year and wasn’t even looked at for rep teams . I’d say , it’s probably because The Penrith connection at nsw level , and the qld connection at ARL , will be the reason , he mightn’t play at those levels . I think he’s as good as Cleary . I actually think he’s better , except Cleary can kick . I think Korisau , and Luai were the reason they were so good last year and I don’t rate Cleary .
But we will see him in the 7 in the blue jersey for the next 5-10 years no matter what . And in 15 years we will look back and say , Cleary is another Anasta , got the job because he was I. The in crowd .
Meanwhile there will be a generation of lost halves like , Adam Reynolds , Moses , brooks , etc who we will wonder ahethwr they should have got those rep jerseys .

 

[supercoach]

Brooks has his failings but outside Prince he is the best 7 we have had. Okay that might not be saying much, but there are very few good ones around and most of the better ones are surrounded by elite players at strong clubs.
Anyway this will be the year where he has to perform as young Madden will get a chance if things don’t start well for Brooks

 

[JC99]

What I would like to see in his game , is a little more of opportunism as we saw when kicking that FG to give his side a win

A number have made the point that the service to Brooks last year contributed to his disappointing season.

I think that the FG you refer to is an example of what Brooks can do with good service. The pass from Liddle was perfection. I came to Brooks so quickly and was so perfectly placed that he had plenty of time to nail it. Which he did with aplomb.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Liddle and Brooks combine this year. If the forwards can get some quick PTBs, then both will be in for a big year.

Liddle and Brooks have ALWAYS combined well. Given they have trained together now for 4 odd years you'd expect that but Liddles deceptively quick feet to scoop the ball off the ground, draw the markers in and get the forwards running full pelt can't be underestimated. This in turn puts opposition defense on the back foot just by certain little things due to liddles speed out of the ruck.
It also allows Brooks to run with freedom the next play.

Honestly Liddle reminds me of a young Farah it's just a shame he's had such an interupted career

And Grant wasn't doing this last season?

Brooks was playing off the back of arguably the best 9 the game has seen in quite a while, the kid is no joke, destroyed NSW in his origin debut.
And yet Brooks only managed 3 try assists.

Is Liddle better than Grant?

NSW was destroyed by the old mate Penrith connection of bare foot Freddy and Alexander the greats big heads and Teddys injury.Destroyed ? Grant was good and gives 100% but i think he is a touch overated.This year will tell.

I think Grant will be very different at the Storm. I said last year, after the hype started building he was overplaying his hand significantly. I think this year he will need to fit his game into Melbourne's structure.

He'll look even better behind a stronger pack. Bellamy will make sure that Harry is still using his strengths which is running the footy a lot and constantly following the footy. He will smash it wherever he plays

 

[JC99]

Harry Grant is average. He couldn't get us to the finals & he got his hands on the ball more than anyone.

I sincerely hope this is sarcasm 😂

 

[Deleted member 3518]

What I would like to see in his game , is a little more of opportunism as we saw when kicking that FG to give his side a win

A number have made the point that the service to Brooks last year contributed to his disappointing season.

I think that the FG you refer to is an example of what Brooks can do with good service. The pass from Liddle was perfection. I came to Brooks so quickly and was so perfectly placed that he had plenty of time to nail it. Which he did with aplomb.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Liddle and Brooks combine this year. If the forwards can get some quick PTBs, then both will be in for a big year.

Liddle and Brooks have ALWAYS combined well. Given they have trained together now for 4 odd years you'd expect that but Liddles deceptively quick feet to scoop the ball off the ground, draw the markers in and get the forwards running full pelt can't be underestimated. This in turn puts opposition defense on the back foot just by certain little things due to liddles speed out of the ruck.
It also allows Brooks to run with freedom the next play.

Honestly Liddle reminds me of a young Farah it's just a shame he's had such an interupted career

And Grant wasn't doing this last season?

Brooks was playing off the back of arguably the best 9 the game has seen in quite a while, the kid is no joke, destroyed NSW in his origin debut.
And yet Brooks only managed 3 try assists.

Is Liddle better than Grant?

NSW was destroyed by the old mate Penrith connection of bare foot Freddy and Alexander the greats big heads and Teddys injury.Destroyed ? Grant was good and gives 100% but i think he is a touch overated.This year will tell.

I think Grant will be very different at the Storm. I said last year, after the hype started building he was overplaying his hand significantly. I think this year he will need to fit his game into Melbourne's structure.

He'll look even better behind a stronger pack. Bellamy will make sure that Harry is still using his strengths which is running the footy a lot and constantly following the footy. He will smash it wherever he plays

Bet you he doesn’t
Edit ; I think he will be game planned for . And he will have to adjust . How quickly that happens might be 1 or 2 games , might be a whole season . Second year syndrome hits every single player

 

[hobbo1]

Brooks has his failings but outside Prince he is the best 7 we have had. Okay that might not be saying much, but there are very few good ones around and most of the better ones are surrounded by elite players at strong clubs.
Anyway this will be the year where he has to perform as young Madden will get a chance if things don’t start well for Brooks

Rob Lui was a better half than Brooks

 

[TrueTiger]

Harry Grant is average. He couldn't get us to the finals & he got his hands on the ball more than anyone.

I really respect your views Harv,but I have to say that the biggest problem last year was that the club"ICON" overcalled Luke many times and Grant being on loan probably respected Benji and his experience hence he passed to him so often and cut Luke out....Brooks will come out cracking with the new forwards and Liddle back at DH....DOUHI will be a shining light as well...
Big improvement expected from Luke in my opinion and I hope he and this team burn up the park and get into the finals....

 

[tonza]

I said it before and I will say it again. Harry Grant only passed the ball when he no longer could do anything with it. Ours forwards go forward suffered, our halfback suffered and our backline suffered.
Yes Harry played well in Origin. Against a side, one man down, against a tired defence and only 33% possession. If Bennet thought he was that good he would have been starting.
I dont normally defend Brooks but with Liddle, he will get cleaner and quicker ball. Wait and watch for improvement in our go forward and consequently our attack in general. I expect Brooks to have a much better year. Harry has still a lot to learn.
Yes, I know, with some on the forum, it was Benji's fault.

 

[supercoach]

Brooks has his failings but outside Prince he is the best 7 we have had. Okay that might not be saying much, but there are very few good ones around and most of the better ones are surrounded by elite players at strong clubs.
Anyway this will be the year where he has to perform as young Madden will get a chance if things don’t start well for Brooks

Rob Lui was a better half than Brooks

Forgot about mad monday

 

[Leck]

Doohey will be the man ..
Brooks sucks ...

There I said it ..

Could help if you could try and spell his name correctly...

I agree, Adam ‘Doueihi’ will play his best footy this year at 6

Brooks needs a smart halves partner that plays the field laterally and can stretch the opponents defensive line

When Brooks has that space, his run, passing and kicking game is excellent