In NZ when brooksie was coming through we were hearing that he was the next andrew johns.
I suppose anything can happen but looks like that calls gonna fall short of the mark.
Was there any credibility around this when he was 16-17 though? If so what happened?
The club overpaid him by miles, they pumped him up, they failed to push him, gave him a gold plated run each week regardless of form and as a result he failed to push himself to improve.
So it's the club's fault?
I'm not against paying top junior talent good money, every club does it. Brooks I think is hampered by high expectations from fans, always has been. If he was never touted, people would have a different impression of him right now, as an average but certainly first grade-quality halfback.
No kid asks to be called the next Andrew Johns or Sonny Bill, the media does this stuff, and it's not Brooks' fault if he was carving up the junior grades when somebody made that statement.
Club never gave him a gold-plated run, they invested in him, in an era when you cannot afford to invest in multiple players in the one position. If you don't play Brooks every week he doesn't improve, and if he's a top junior you don't have the funds to trot out 3 or 4 top-tier halfbacks.
At least Brooks has repaid the faith put in him by staying at the club for less money, unlike that dog Moses.
So to sum up your post, its not his fault, its not the clubs fault, its partly the fan's fault and mostly the media's haha thats great. Nice spin doctoring. To counter your points:
Yes the club stuffed up. Is it all their fault? No of course not but they hold a huge slice of the blame.
Im 100% against young talent earning big money. I believe you earn your place in this world. Brooks, Moses and Suli did not earn it yet got it anyway.
He was first touted by the club. Fans and media soon took over.
It is his fault. There were always reports he was an awful trainer and that showed on the field.
It was and remains a poor investment. He will soon need to secure back to back rings to pay us back.
Finaly, he stayed at the club as his options elsewhere were reportably near non existant.
Im behind him this season, but if he fails again, thats it.