Luke Brooks

[Lukic]

I've said it before plenty of times, but Brooks is basically a lucky version of Daniel Mortimer. Good defenders for halves, pretty quick and good in support play, but that's about it. He's just not very creative nor is he the dominant, organising type. He's a player who really should've been a career backup five-eight/halfback, who occasionally got runs in the number 14.

Looking at all the great, and even average halves, you can see some degree of planning and purpose with what they do. They identify weaknesses in the opposition such as good matchups, or they notice overlaps. They're able to play to the strengths of those around them and get the best out of them. Brooks just isn't that guy unfortunately. He plays like he's going through the motions - always the same crappy bomb, the same hospital passes to the man outside, the same dummy and run when a ball hits the ground and he picks it up. Where has he progressed as a player since coming into first grade? What is one thing you can point at, apart from his defence, that you can say he's actually improved at? There's nothing. If anything, he's regressed in a lot of ways.

Brooks would have mild success playing in the halves for a really good team. At the Storm instead of Hughes, or Manly instead of Foran. Someone that can just do what a half needs to do and take some of the load off the main playmakers. But he's shown time and time again that he just can't be expected to execute at a high level with consistency.

End of the day, we've never had a great team or stability around him - that much is true, but not every player is afforded that and their talent is still able to shine through. Brooks wouldn't be much better than the 30th best half in the league, yet is paid like he's the 30th best player in the league. On 400k a year as the 4th most important member of your spine - sure, you can win with him. $800k a year or whatever he's on and he's meant to lead your squad? Well, you end up going how we're going right now.

 

[TigerTone]

Love Brooks and always wanted to see him as a running 6 without having the pressure to game manage

But it’s come to the point where it’s just best if he goes, I hope he has success wherever he goes (not against us) but I don’t see it being at the tigers anymore


To use a business analogy Luke is like a worker who stars in the beginning and both the employer and he thinks its a natural progression that sometime in the future he will be the leader of the business. He can tackle hard and often, run the ball , kick long , occasionally put a straight runner thru the gap etc etc in isolation but the problem is he is not a natural leader and never had or will ever have the personality or game reading ability to fulfill the role we need to go to another level. It’s not his fault (its genetics) and its not the clubs fault ( they have tried everything) What usually happens ? The person gets crucified and leaves .Who wins? No one. We lose a player that is good in so many aspects of the game and loves the club. What should the club do? Sit down with him and tell him straight we have tried for 9 years to give you the opportunity to lead the club but for these reasons its now time to decide the future. We want you to be a one club player but need to take the pressure of expectation off you and find someone who can assume the chief play maker role and find the next best role that suits you skillset and ability . That could be a running 5/8, a ball playing 13 cause you have strong defence and passing ability and speed of the mark or even a 14 that can help the club get to where it must go in the next 2-3 years. This will take the pressure off and you can Focus on what’s in front of you ..not so much what’s around you and what needs to happen next. Of course you will at some point have to take a pay cut and accept a lesser role but the upside is you will still make good money and wont have to suffer the continuous comparisons to the few high level 7’s that have played the game ( and the stress of expectations that is associated with this position) , be recognised for what you are truly good at , be responsible for making this club successful and most importantly, enjoy a less visible life with your partner (and kids in the future). What do you think Luke?

.

 

[WT2019]

I've said it before plenty of times, but Brooks is basically a lucky version of Daniel Mortimer. Good defenders for halves, pretty quick and good in support play, but that's about it. He's just not very creative nor is he the dominant, organising type. He's a player who really should've been a career backup five-eight/halfback, who occasionally got runs in the number 14.

Looking at all the great, and even average halves, you can see some degree of planning and purpose with what they do. They identify weaknesses in the opposition such as good matchups, or they notice overlaps. They're able to play to the strengths of those around them and get the best out of them. Brooks just isn't that guy unfortunately. He plays like he's going through the motions - always the same crappy bomb, the same hospital passes to the man outside, the same dummy and run when a ball hits the ground and he picks it up. Where has he progressed as a player since coming into first grade? What is one thing you can point at, apart from his defence, that you can say he's actually improved at? There's nothing. If anything, he's regressed in a lot of ways.

Brooks would have mild success playing in the halves for a really good team. At the Storm instead of Hughes, or Manly instead of Foran. Someone that can just do what a half needs to do and take some of the load off the main playmakers. But he's shown time and time again that he just can't be expected to execute at a high level with consistency.

End of the day, we've never had a great team or stability around him - that much is true, but not every player is afforded that and their talent is still able to shine through. Brooks wouldn't be much better than the 30th best half in the league, yet is paid like he's the 30th best player in the league. On 400k a year as the 4th most important member of your spine - sure, you can win with him. $800k a year or whatever he's on and he's meant to lead your squad? Well, you end up going how we're going right now.

Good post. Who determines how much a job is worth and ultimately pays the salary ? What happens when you have a really good employee, they don’t meet the business expectations for the role you gave them and paid for but they are a long term employee who are loyal to the business and try to the best of their ability?

 

[the_third]

Should of cut him 3 yrs ago.. hope jock madden gets a go before year is out...

Unless Brooks is injured, Madden won't get a go, and there's quite a difference between him and Brooks and Madden does not come out in front.

Based on one game? How’s our mate Tyson gamble going over at the broncos. He wasn’t the best in the couple of games he played. Broncos gave him a chance and he’s killing it. I would happily take him over brooks without any thought.

Brooks is more talented but Tyson is more of a competitor. That's what I saw in the guy. Hopefully Hastings brings the same kind of passion because as we have seem Luke is just happy to receive a pay check and has no second gear.

Brooks sitting some of the biggest opposition forwards on their backsides tends to suggest he is a competitor and fearless. I would also consider that type of effort should inspire his team mates to do the same.

The inspiration comment is a step to far given our finals performance since he’s been here

 

[TigerTownSFS]

I think everyone here can see the issue with brooks. The question is how we extract ourselves from this situation. Do we pay him full freight to play another role in the team that isn’t the face of the club or do we pay him to play at another club?

 

[Lukic]

I think everyone here can see the issue with brooks. The question is how we extract ourselves from this situation. Do we pay him full freight to play another role in the team that isn’t the face of the club or do we pay him to play at another club?

Let's assume Brooks is on $800k a year and if some team signed him, we were to cover half of it. We'd be opening a roster spot that needs replacing and freeing up 400k in cash. Assuming the other role he would play is backup half / number 14, the question then is: "Is Luke Brooks worth more than 400k as a number 14?"

In my opinion, no, but he's not too far off. Connor Watson signed at $400k (albeit at the Roosters, where players commonly sign for unders to be a part of a contender and earn rep honors). Watson is substantially better as a 14 given he can play lock well, and has proven to be capable across the park in the backline while Brooks is untested in that regard.

My preference would be giving Liddle the 14 and having Simpkin in the 9, given Liddle's speed and footwork making him a dangerous option in the middle late in the game.

So given we already have other options, and after seeing the market rate established to an extent with both the Watson and Mbye Signings (assuming the Dragons are paying approx. $400k), Brooks wouldn't represent good value. Then going beyond purely footy considerations, it would reflect well on the club to show a long-term player a dignified exit with a release rather than demoting him to reserves.

 

[bigsiro]

@WT2019

Those are great questions. Organisational culture is massive. IMO it can be a positive to keep sub-par employees on if they are hard-working and their presence is good for team morale and culture.

But, if after a fair, agreed time-frame, they consistently under-perform or are found to simply not have the requisite capabilities then you generally carve out a different role for them or agree to part ways.
You do not keep them going, unaccountable for any extended period, in key organisational positions. This would stimey organisational growth and send a message to the rest of the team that consistent underachieving is an acceptable standard.
So culturally, what was meant to be positive, has now become a negative.

Re the loyalty argument: we all love loyalty and have absolutely rewarded it with Brooks, giving him many, many good years to try develop into the role.

 

[twentyforty]

Madge will not dump Brooksy. Why? Because he does what Madge asks of him.
It’s clear there’s a lot of angst and criticism as we face missing out on ninth spot on the ladder, so what to do?
Here’s an idea? What if we sack our best player?
Gosh, didn’t we already try this strategy? (eg Farah), did it work back then?
Brooks is fine, he needs some zip in players around him to put opposition on the back foot.
Just an observation from the Sharks game..
Our support play was woeful. Mbye was trying to run into holes early but mostly found himself getting in the way.
We had ball runners who weren’t thinking of looking for support.
Cronk said the game would open up in the 2nd half and it did. We needed to get on top early and didn’t.
It often looks like many of the players have a fear of success?
I’ve got no idea how they fix this, but I do know that sacking the coach and the best player is not the solution.

 

[PJ_]

Halfbacks face the most ire from the fans than any other position. In a good team, Brooks would prob shine. He is just surrounded by 8 or so numpties that don't help him.
At the end of the day, he is paid to organise and steer the team around. Is he doing this, regardless of his team mates?
I always liked Luke but I think for his development and mental health he needs to find another team.
Otherwise Madge needs to support him with better and more experienced players, which he is struggling to do.

 

[twentyforty]

Halfbacks face the most ire from the fans than any other position. In a good team, Brooks would prob shine. He is just surrounded by 8 or so numpties that don't help him.
At the end of the day, he is paid to organise and steer the team around. Is he doing this, regardless of his team mates?
I always liked Luke but I think for his development and mental health he needs to find another team.
Otherwise Madge needs to support him with better and more experienced players, which he is struggling to do.

Fair point, regarding the traditional halfback role, however, I think there’s a limit to the steering. Players need to do some steering of themselves as well. Be more intuitive, put themselves into position by reading the play , anticipating player movement etc.
I also thought we were struggling to recruit , but now I’m not so sure that’s the case, looking at the players we have recruited, Laurie, Stefano, Doueihi, Maumalo, Tuilagi, Gildart, Hastings, Amone. There’s a lot to like about these! They are quality players on the up, with a disciplined approach to balance the cap. We’re not there yet but you can see we’re on track.

 

[tony soprano]

Brooks and Doueihi played away from the game plan again.

Weren't kicking to corners building pressure ect.

Is it time to accept they won't get the team far.

 

[PJ_]

Halfbacks face the most ire from the fans than any other position. In a good team, Brooks would prob shine. He is just surrounded by 8 or so numpties that don't help him.
At the end of the day, he is paid to organise and steer the team around. Is he doing this, regardless of his team mates?
I always liked Luke but I think for his development and mental health he needs to find another team.
Otherwise Madge needs to support him with better and more experienced players, which he is struggling to do.

Fair point, regarding the traditional halfback role, however, I think there’s a limit to the steering. Players need to do some steering of themselves as well. Be more intuitive, put themselves into position by reading the play , anticipating player movement etc.
I also thought we were struggling to recruit , but now I’m not so sure that’s the case, looking at the players we have recruited, Laurie, Stefano, Doueihi, Maumalo, Tuilagi, Gildart, Hastings, Amone. There’s a lot to like about these! They are quality players on the up, with a disciplined approach to balance the cap. We’re not there yet but you can see we’re on track.

Yeah that's what I meant with a supporting cast.
I had a look at some YouTube vids of Ellis the other day and the lines he used to run off benji were something else. Even flipperhands Lawrence used to run excellent angles.
Doueihi runs great and even when LL isn't buggered he really puts the Def in 2 minds.
Although brooks does need to manage the end of sets better.

 

[Lukic]

The common theme among everyone who defends Brooks is that he needs better players around him. Maybe the other players need someone better than Brooks as their halfback?

Benji and Farah are two all-time greats. He had Tedesco at fullback. Moses has played origin (even if overrated). Even Blake Austin left us and immediately lead the Raiders to the prelim finals.

He's had plenty of talented enough players around him. Do we need to surround him with the freaking immortals before we can judge him?

Fact is no matter who's around him, he's not good enough. It's not like he's busting the line, or putting players through holes and they're dropping it. He just isn't good. Doueihi has taken over the team after playing only 10 games in the halves. Brooks has been our halfback for 8 years and over 160 games. It's clear as day he's not up to it and it's not a team issue.

 

[jadtiger]

The common theme among everyone who defends Brooks is that he needs better players around him. Maybe the other players need someone better than Brooks as their halfback?

Who would that be?Even more importantly,are they available and would they come here?

 

[Telltails]

Has never played behind a dominate pack and it won't matter who he is replaced with they will never deliver until we have some dominance up front.
Teddy and Brooks were a great combo and if Brooks does leave and plays for a better team he will go well because - he can play even if he never reaches the heights that were expected of him.

 

[jag]

The Tigers need a game manager at halfback. I am hoping Hastings is this style of player we require We are a team that makes high amount of basic errors with a poor completion rate. It’s vital that we can get repeat sets kick corners put pressure on opposition teams to overcome our mistakes Both our halves are running halves that cannot game manage. They both like to engage the line setting up plays.
The majority of teams struggling outside the 8 haven’t got a game manager as halfback.
The Raiders have struggled this year with no game manager at halfback which has resulted in player of year last season struggling big time. People thinking Brooks would be a good fit at Canberra are wrong not the type of player they require.

 

[Ultimate Warrior]

The Tigers need a game manager at halfback. I am hoping Hastings is this style of player we require We are a team that makes high amount of basic errors with a poor completion rate. It’s vital that we can get repeat sets kick corners put pressure on opposition teams to overcome our mistakes Both our halves are running halves that cannot game manage. They both like to engage the line setting up plays.
The majority of teams struggling outside the 8 haven’t got a game manager as halfback.
The Raiders have struggled this year with no game manager at halfback which has resulted in player of year last season struggling big time. People thinking Brooks would be a good fit at Canberra are wrong not the type of player they require.

From a Tigers perspective he would fit in anywhere

 

[earl]

Brooks and Doueihi played away from the game plan again.

Weren't kicking to corners building pressure ect.

Is it time to accept they won't get the team far.

They are both good runners of the footy and can put on a pass but neither of them are consistent footy players.

 

[earl]

I am hoping Hastings is this style of player we require

So am I. He is like the last Jedi - our only hope.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I am hoping Hastings is this style of player we require

So am I. He is like the last Jedi - our only hope.

Then the club might as well fold