Luke Brooks

[GNR4LIFE]

Where there's smoke there's fire - Sheen's comments were simply a PR feel good smoke screen.

Brooks will be gone before the 2022 season.

So if Sheens said Brooks was definitely leaving... then he would definitely stay?

This feels like I'm talking to my kids, when they decide "it's opposites day". I don't think the club could have been any more emphatic.

Ivan's not leaving. He has a contract and will see it out.
The Garlic Sauce is not leaving, he can mow grass at LO.
Matterson is not leaving....but if he does Wests will get something.
Taylor has the full backing of the board
We have faith in madge, extended his contract....nek minut, Madge scrapes home and keeps his gig.
And so on
And so on

How many of those statements did Sheens make?

Is Sheens the top dog at the club now and whatever he says goes?

Of course. Who would outrank him?

The CEO and Chairman, if Madge doesn’t want a player but sheens does surely you go with the coach. I am sure Sheens has a fair bit of power but that doesn’t mean if he says something the opposite can’t happen.

CEO and Chairman have nothing to do with the football dept, and Maguire has been neutered. One of the reasons Sheens role was changed.

If Sheens is going to walk in and say what’s happening without any consultation we are in the same position as before. Others may have made the original comments and they probably thought they were true. Just cause sheens said it this time does mean it can’t happen.

It doesn’t, but why would Sheens make himself look like a fool with his very first statement?

 

[Chicken_Faced_Killa]

Where there's smoke there's fire - Sheen's comments were simply a PR feel good smoke screen.

Brooks will be gone before the 2022 season.

So if Sheens said Brooks was definitely leaving... then he would definitely stay?

This feels like I'm talking to my kids, when they decide "it's opposites day". I don't think the club could have been any more emphatic.

Ivan's not leaving. He has a contract and will see it out.
The Garlic Sauce is not leaving, he can mow grass at LO.
Matterson is not leaving....but if he does Wests will get something.
Taylor has the full backing of the board
We have faith in madge, extended his contract....nek minut, Madge scrapes home and keeps his gig.
And so on
And so on

How many of those statements did Sheens make?

Is Sheens the top dog at the club now and whatever he says goes?

Of course. Who would outrank him?

The CEO and Chairman, if Madge doesn’t want a player but sheens does surely you go with the coach. I am sure Sheens has a fair bit of power but that doesn’t mean if he says something the opposite can’t happen.

CEO and Chairman have nothing to do with the football dept, and Maguire has been neutered. One of the reasons Sheens role was changed.

If Sheens is going to walk in and say what’s happening without any consultation we are in the same position as before. Others may have made the original comments and they probably thought they were true. Just cause sheens said it this time does mean it can’t happen.

It doesn’t, but why would Sheens make himself look like a fool with his very first statement?

People don’t make themselves look like fools on purpose

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Where there's smoke there's fire - Sheen's comments were simply a PR feel good smoke screen.

Brooks will be gone before the 2022 season.

So if Sheens said Brooks was definitely leaving... then he would definitely stay?

This feels like I'm talking to my kids, when they decide "it's opposites day". I don't think the club could have been any more emphatic.

Ivan's not leaving. He has a contract and will see it out.
The Garlic Sauce is not leaving, he can mow grass at LO.
Matterson is not leaving....but if he does Wests will get something.
Taylor has the full backing of the board
We have faith in madge, extended his contract....nek minut, Madge scrapes home and keeps his gig.
And so on
And so on

How many of those statements did Sheens make?

Is Sheens the top dog at the club now and whatever he says goes?

Of course. Who would outrank him?

The CEO and Chairman, if Madge doesn’t want a player but sheens does surely you go with the coach. I am sure Sheens has a fair bit of power but that doesn’t mean if he says something the opposite can’t happen.

CEO and Chairman have nothing to do with the football dept, and Maguire has been neutered. One of the reasons Sheens role was changed.

If Sheens is going to walk in and say what’s happening without any consultation we are in the same position as before. Others may have made the original comments and they probably thought they were true. Just cause sheens said it this time does mean it can’t happen.

It doesn’t, but why would Sheens make himself look like a fool with his very first statement?

People don’t make themselves look like fools on purpose

In this case he would be, cos he’d be making the decision.

 

[Chicken_Faced_Killa]

Where there's smoke there's fire - Sheen's comments were simply a PR feel good smoke screen.

Brooks will be gone before the 2022 season.

So if Sheens said Brooks was definitely leaving... then he would definitely stay?

This feels like I'm talking to my kids, when they decide "it's opposites day". I don't think the club could have been any more emphatic.

Ivan's not leaving. He has a contract and will see it out.
The Garlic Sauce is not leaving, he can mow grass at LO.
Matterson is not leaving....but if he does Wests will get something.
Taylor has the full backing of the board
We have faith in madge, extended his contract....nek minut, Madge scrapes home and keeps his gig.
And so on
And so on

How many of those statements did Sheens make?

Is Sheens the top dog at the club now and whatever he says goes?

Of course. Who would outrank him?

The CEO and Chairman, if Madge doesn’t want a player but sheens does surely you go with the coach. I am sure Sheens has a fair bit of power but that doesn’t mean if he says something the opposite can’t happen.

CEO and Chairman have nothing to do with the football dept, and Maguire has been neutered. One of the reasons Sheens role was changed.

If Sheens is going to walk in and say what’s happening without any consultation we are in the same position as before. Others may have made the original comments and they probably thought they were true. Just cause sheens said it this time does mean it can’t happen.

It doesn’t, but why would Sheens make himself look like a fool with his very first statement?

People don’t make themselves look like fools on purpose

In this case he would be, cos he’d be making the decision.

So essentially what you’re is that because Sheens made a statement we can’t move Brooks on even if something came up that worked for both parties. That’s poor business and hopefully Tim is smart enough not to be that stubborn

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Where there's smoke there's fire - Sheen's comments were simply a PR feel good smoke screen.

Brooks will be gone before the 2022 season.

So if Sheens said Brooks was definitely leaving... then he would definitely stay?

This feels like I'm talking to my kids, when they decide "it's opposites day". I don't think the club could have been any more emphatic.

Ivan's not leaving. He has a contract and will see it out.
The Garlic Sauce is not leaving, he can mow grass at LO.
Matterson is not leaving....but if he does Wests will get something.
Taylor has the full backing of the board
We have faith in madge, extended his contract....nek minut, Madge scrapes home and keeps his gig.
And so on
And so on

How many of those statements did Sheens make?

Is Sheens the top dog at the club now and whatever he says goes?

Of course. Who would outrank him?

The CEO and Chairman, if Madge doesn’t want a player but sheens does surely you go with the coach. I am sure Sheens has a fair bit of power but that doesn’t mean if he says something the opposite can’t happen.

Well Sheens has made it clear he wants Brooks. He also made reference to having known him for a long time. I look forward to his positive influence on Brooks and other players in the team.

 

[Chicken_Faced_Killa]

Where there's smoke there's fire - Sheen's comments were simply a PR feel good smoke screen.

Brooks will be gone before the 2022 season.

So if Sheens said Brooks was definitely leaving... then he would definitely stay?

This feels like I'm talking to my kids, when they decide "it's opposites day". I don't think the club could have been any more emphatic.

Ivan's not leaving. He has a contract and will see it out.
The Garlic Sauce is not leaving, he can mow grass at LO.
Matterson is not leaving....but if he does Wests will get something.
Taylor has the full backing of the board
We have faith in madge, extended his contract....nek minut, Madge scrapes home and keeps his gig.
And so on
And so on

How many of those statements did Sheens make?

Is Sheens the top dog at the club now and whatever he says goes?

Of course. Who would outrank him?

The CEO and Chairman, if Madge doesn’t want a player but sheens does surely you go with the coach. I am sure Sheens has a fair bit of power but that doesn’t mean if he says something the opposite can’t happen.

Well Sheens has made it clear he wants Brooks. He also made reference to having known him for a long time. I look forward to his positive influence on Brooks and other players in the team.

I hope he does. I don’t have a strong opinion either way in the keep him or punt him debate but I hope the club does what is best for the team not get tied to statements made by any official.

 

[Camel2281]

if we lose Brooks and get Kyle Flanagan we will truly see what an average halfback looks like

It would provide some vigorous discussion though.

But we'd be saving half a million minimum

 

[weststigerman]

Where there's smoke there's fire - Sheen's comments were simply a PR feel good smoke screen.

Brooks will be gone before the 2022 season.

So if Sheens said Brooks was definitely leaving... then he would definitely stay?

This feels like I'm talking to my kids, when they decide "it's opposites day". I don't think the club could have been any more emphatic.

Ivan's not leaving. He has a contract and will see it out.
The Garlic Sauce is not leaving, he can mow grass at LO.
Matterson is not leaving....but if he does Wests will get something.
Taylor has the full backing of the board
We have faith in madge, extended his contract....nek minut, Madge scrapes home and keeps his gig.
And so on
And so on

How many of those statements did Sheens make?

Is Sheens the top dog at the club now and whatever he says goes?

Of course. Who would outrank him?

The CEO and Chairman, if Madge doesn’t want a player but sheens does surely you go with the coach. I am sure Sheens has a fair bit of power but that doesn’t mean if he says something the opposite can’t happen.

That's been made pretty clear already. The Josh Hodgson move is on hold until Sheens talks to Maguire about it. Just like the assistant coach decision it has to have both Sheens and Maguire onboard for any signing to happen.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Where there's smoke there's fire - Sheen's comments were simply a PR feel good smoke screen.

Brooks will be gone before the 2022 season.

So if Sheens said Brooks was definitely leaving... then he would definitely stay?

This feels like I'm talking to my kids, when they decide "it's opposites day". I don't think the club could have been any more emphatic.

Ivan's not leaving. He has a contract and will see it out.
The Garlic Sauce is not leaving, he can mow grass at LO.
Matterson is not leaving....but if he does Wests will get something.
Taylor has the full backing of the board
We have faith in madge, extended his contract....nek minut, Madge scrapes home and keeps his gig.
And so on
And so on

How many of those statements did Sheens make?

Is Sheens the top dog at the club now and whatever he says goes?

Of course. Who would outrank him?

The CEO and Chairman, if Madge doesn’t want a player but sheens does surely you go with the coach. I am sure Sheens has a fair bit of power but that doesn’t mean if he says something the opposite can’t happen.

CEO and Chairman have nothing to do with the football dept, and Maguire has been neutered. One of the reasons Sheens role was changed.

If Sheens is going to walk in and say what’s happening without any consultation we are in the same position as before. Others may have made the original comments and they probably thought they were true. Just cause sheens said it this time does mean it can’t happen.

It doesn’t, but why would Sheens make himself look like a fool with his very first statement?

People don’t make themselves look like fools on purpose

In this case he would be, cos he’d be making the decision.

So essentially what you’re is that because Sheens made a statement we can’t move Brooks on even if something came up that worked for both parties. That’s poor business and hopefully Tim is smart enough not to be that stubborn

How would moving him on benefit us for 2022? We’re already missing Doueihi, which leaves us with Hastings and Madden. 2 players who aren’t even established first graders. I’m sure Sheens has done due diligence. It’s almost November, no magical scenario is going to appear out of thin air that solves all our issues. It’s long past the time of everyone needing to accept Brooks isn’t going anywhere. You don’t have to like it, but the denial is getting to delusional levels now.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Where there's smoke there's fire - Sheen's comments were simply a PR feel good smoke screen.

Brooks will be gone before the 2022 season.

So if Sheens said Brooks was definitely leaving... then he would definitely stay?

This feels like I'm talking to my kids, when they decide "it's opposites day". I don't think the club could have been any more emphatic.

Ivan's not leaving. He has a contract and will see it out.
The Garlic Sauce is not leaving, he can mow grass at LO.
Matterson is not leaving....but if he does Wests will get something.
Taylor has the full backing of the board
We have faith in madge, extended his contract....nek minut, Madge scrapes home and keeps his gig.
And so on
And so on

How many of those statements did Sheens make?

Is Sheens the top dog at the club now and whatever he says goes?

Of course. Who would outrank him?

The CEO and Chairman, if Madge doesn’t want a player but sheens does surely you go with the coach. I am sure Sheens has a fair bit of power but that doesn’t mean if he says something the opposite can’t happen.

Well Sheens has made it clear he wants Brooks. He also made reference to having known him for a long time. I look forward to his positive influence on Brooks and other players in the team.

I hope he does. I don’t have a strong opinion either way in the keep him or punt him debate but I hope the club does what is best for the team not get tied to statements made by any official.

My confidence in Sheens is that he has always been a student of the game and will have a gameplan prepared which will match the strengths of our players.

 

[Chicken_Faced_Killa]

Where there's smoke there's fire - Sheen's comments were simply a PR feel good smoke screen.

Brooks will be gone before the 2022 season.

So if Sheens said Brooks was definitely leaving... then he would definitely stay?

This feels like I'm talking to my kids, when they decide "it's opposites day". I don't think the club could have been any more emphatic.

Ivan's not leaving. He has a contract and will see it out.
The Garlic Sauce is not leaving, he can mow grass at LO.
Matterson is not leaving....but if he does Wests will get something.
Taylor has the full backing of the board
We have faith in madge, extended his contract....nek minut, Madge scrapes home and keeps his gig.
And so on
And so on

How many of those statements did Sheens make?

Is Sheens the top dog at the club now and whatever he says goes?

Of course. Who would outrank him?

The CEO and Chairman, if Madge doesn’t want a player but sheens does surely you go with the coach. I am sure Sheens has a fair bit of power but that doesn’t mean if he says something the opposite can’t happen.

CEO and Chairman have nothing to do with the football dept, and Maguire has been neutered. One of the reasons Sheens role was changed.

If Sheens is going to walk in and say what’s happening without any consultation we are in the same position as before. Others may have made the original comments and they probably thought they were true. Just cause sheens said it this time does mean it can’t happen.

It doesn’t, but why would Sheens make himself look like a fool with his very first statement?

People don’t make themselves look like fools on purpose

In this case he would be, cos he’d be making the decision.

So essentially what you’re is that because Sheens made a statement we can’t move Brooks on even if something came up that worked for both parties. That’s poor business and hopefully Tim is smart enough not to be that stubborn

How would moving him on benefit us for 2022? We’re already missing Doueihi, which leaves us with Hastings and Madden. 2 players who aren’t even established first graders. I’m sure Sheens has done due diligence. It’s almost November, no magical scenario is going to appear out of thin air that solves all our issues. It’s long past the time of everyone needing to accept Brooks isn’t going anywhere. You don’t have to like it, but the denial is getting to delusional levels now.

I’ve previously stated that I don’t feel we should move Brooks on for the reasons you have said. I’m not advocating for keeping or letting Brooks go in this discussion I’m talking with you around how Sheens could change his stance. yes unlikely but we shouldn’t be closing the door on any options with the state we are in.

 

[Camel2281]

More matches without a finals appearance than any player in history. Says it all really


That is far more likely on the club not the player.Brooks is not an ideal 7 but our failures are a combined CLUB/PLAYER failure not just him.

I never said they were solely on him. But he is an endemic part of the problem and the club persisting with him no matter how poorly he's performing sets a standard in the organisation that poor performance has no consequences. Instead he gets extension on contracts and is made the club's top earner. Moving Brooks on is a statement from the club saying that they want things to change. They want a different culture and they are going in a different direction.


Here is something to think about!

**Would you prefer Brooks or Adam Reynolds in your team**

Brooks and Adam Reynolds 2021 stats

Brooks Age 26 Reynolds Age 31
Brooks 2021 24 games Reynolds 25 games
Brooks Avg run 97m Reynolds 67m
Brooks Tackle efficiency 85.7 Reynolds 89.3
Brooks Line drop outs forced 13 Reynolds 9
Brooks Try assists 16 Reynolds 7
Brooks Line Breaks 10 Reynolds 10
Brooks Off Loads 25 Reynolds 9
Brooks Tackles made 456 Reynolds 359

Brooks Total all games 163 Reynolds 231
Brooks Total all tries 40 Reynolds 38

These are all NRL stats

In summary

Brooks gets more than double try assists
Forces more line drop outs
Runs more meters
Makes more tackles
And has more than 3 times more offloads

Ok he is not a leader but looking at the stats he is far better than Adam Reynolds
Not as good as Cleary, Hughes of DCE - but our team is no where as strong as theirs
BTW I am not Brooks "Fan Boy" but I do look at the stats in a non objective way

Context is king, without it stats are meaningless. I’d have Reynolds over Brooks every time. Reynolds knows how to win a game.

I’ll take Brooks over Reynolds.
The difference in the two halves is in the team’s they have. Not necessarily because of their quality, although it does have an effect, but because of stability and the bond of commonality. Before the whistle you need to look your teammates in the eye, the same as you do after full time.
Our boys change every week. Every week there’s a new kid to come and learn on your time.
Let’s see hoe Reynolds goes in 22 shall we?

Brooks problem isn’t skill, he just has no killer instinct, and thats got nothing to do with his teammates. Do you think Brooks makes that 2 point field goal Reynolds kicked against us? Not in a million years.

All good halfbacks can step up when it’s needed. Brooks doesn’t have that attribute.

Like I said in my last post though, he is not alone. There are at least 6 other halfbacks who couldn’t do what Reynolds does either. That isn’t a failing on Brooks. It just shows how good Reynolds is. FYI, I don’t think he will change the Broncos that dramatically. They still look pretty weak across the park. Outside or him, their spine sucks. So he’s going to be put to the test.

No definitely not alone, but you can’t pay $850k for a halfback who never steps up. Granted he’s never been strong stepping up but at least in the past he was a decent attacking player on $550k. Under Madge he’s regressed badly and is getting paid more.

He doesn’t work in our system and he never will. This will be debated for the next two years as we’re too stupid to ever release him, but we’re never playing finals with Brooks at 7.

I’d be surprised if he was on 850. The problems run deeper than Brooks though. Just like they run deeper than the coach when everyone wanted him gone. It’s not as simple as we punt him and the lord and saviour Hastings will lead us to the finals. The squad is garbage, and outside of when Tedesco was here, it’s never been a finals calibre squad. But of course, Brooks being the halfback and longest serving player gets the brunt of it.

No him going would make minimal difference to our performance, it would just save money. Our squad sucks, our coach sucks and our administrators are hopeless.

And to make matters worse, assuming that’s possible, there seems to be a consensus of opinion that the way out of the hole is to sack someone lol. Am I the only one who thinks this is funny?


It is tragic,Brooks certainly has his faults but he has good points also as i look across our squad he is one of the lesser problems.When you have a forward who wants a large payrise and they dont even tackle you see a far bigger problem in the squad.Some of our players obviously think playing first grade guarantees they deserve more money,this is nonsense as consistent good performances deserve more money and it is about time some of them realised defence wins you games and is a very important factor in performance

Why do you think that is though?

They look at Brooks who got a massive extension on near enough to a million a year despite having never delivered anything but below average NRL standard work. This creates the poor culture of expecting something for nothing.

If Brooks was paid according to his output value of about $250-300k, there wouldn't be so many arguments about him. His paypacket along with M'Bye before him is a huge factor in the clubs issues in being able to attract and retain talent, as it's human nature to compare what you're getting to your workmates

 

[earl]

They look at Brooks who got a massive extension on near enough to a million a year despite having never delivered anything close to below average NRL standard work

Is this true ? I have no idea how much he is on but I personally doubt he is on 700k. I thought his last contract was 500k.

 

[Camel2281]

They look at Brooks who got a massive extension on near enough to a million a year despite having never delivered anything close to below average NRL standard work

Is this true ? I have no idea how much he is on but I personally doubt he is on 700k. I thought his last contract was 500k.

His last extension was widely reported to have made him the clubs top earner above Moses M'Bye roughly 900k

 

[GNR4LIFE]

They look at Brooks who got a massive extension on near enough to a million a year despite having never delivered anything close to below average NRL standard work

Is this true ? I have no idea how much he is on but I personally doubt he is on 700k. I thought his last contract was 500k.

His last extension was widely reported to have made him the clubs top earner above Moses M'Bye roughly 900k

No way is he on 900k

 

[Wildcat777]

Whether we like it or not, players are getting paid what has been agreed. Between both parties. And the record we have no idea what the real figures are. Some do but not anyone here. So need to get ones knickers in a knot.

 

[tigerbalm]

Where there's smoke there's fire - Sheen's comments were simply a PR feel good smoke screen.

Brooks will be gone before the 2022 season.

So if Sheens said Brooks was definitely leaving... then he would definitely stay?

This feels like I'm talking to my kids, when they decide "it's opposites day". I don't think the club could have been any more emphatic.

Ivan's not leaving. He has a contract and will see it out.
The Garlic Sauce is not leaving, he can mow grass at LO.
Matterson is not leaving....but if he does Wests will get something.
Taylor has the full backing of the board
We have faith in madge, extended his contract....nek minut, Madge scrapes home and keeps his gig.
And so on
And so on

How many of those statements did Sheens make?

Is Sheens the top dog at the club now and whatever he says goes?

Pretty much tbh

Above the Chairman?

The Chair and BOD oversee the whole org but for football sheens is the big kahuna. The board wouldn’t (shouldn’t) be doing day to day stuff.

Fair enough. I guess time will tell.

 

[jirskyr]

Where there's smoke there's fire - Sheen's comments were simply a PR feel good smoke screen.

Brooks will be gone before the 2022 season.

So if Sheens said Brooks was definitely leaving... then he would definitely stay?

This feels like I'm talking to my kids, when they decide "it's opposites day". I don't think the club could have been any more emphatic.

Ivan's not leaving. He has a contract and will see it out.
The Garlic Sauce is not leaving, he can mow grass at LO.
Matterson is not leaving....but if he does Wests will get something.
Taylor has the full backing of the board
We have faith in madge, extended his contract....nek minut, Madge scrapes home and keeps his gig.
And so on
And so on

Now write me out the list of times club said "no truth to the rumour" and there was actually no truth to the rumour.

Also I think you'll find the club was very careful about what they actually said in relation to the incidents you quote. For example, with Ivan, they didn't say "he's not leaving" they said "he has a contract with Wests Tigers and we expect him to fulfil that contract". Ivan Cleary is the one that said "I intend to honour my contract" - and technically he did, until he asked Tigers to dissolve the contract in favour of joining another club.

 

[twentyforty]

https://www.nrl.com/siteassets/2021/round-6/wests-tigers_20210416-1.jpg?center=0.44%2C0.72&preset=photo-inline

We simply don’t have a top 6 nrl team, the betting agencies know it, the players looking for a new club know it, most people you talk to acknowledge it. I can accept that some fans will refuse to accept that.

 

[earl]

They look at Brooks who got a massive extension on near enough to a million a year despite having never delivered anything close to below average NRL standard work

Is this true ? I have no idea how much he is on but I personally doubt he is on 700k. I thought his last contract was 500k.

His last extension was widely reported to have made him the clubs top earner above Moses M'Bye roughly 900k

No way is he on 900k

I honestly think he is closer to 500k than 900k.