The inevitable Luke Brooks thread..

[Lauren]

Brooks has the uncanny ability to take the wrong option, passes to the wrong player regularly,runs when should pass and vice versa, if he can’t understand the game by now he never will,

We haven't seen enough of him(from his game time) in the last two weeks to state this though. We all know his issues but you can't realistically determine if he's resolving them based upon his last two games.
He was brought in with 10-15mins to go last week and had little time to leave any mark.
We were under heavy pressure last night but I thought he and Moses Mbye helped in certain plays. Both created half chances from nothing.
Mbye's running game improved as did his involvement to bring others into play. Think one of Doueihi's passes set up a try, but one fell flat.
Also, didn't Luke set up a try??

We don't know what Madge is asking of him and that's all that should matter for the team, going forward.
Last week he appeared to try different things and kept his intensity at a high level, but the limited minutes saw him try a little too hard.
I thought the only noteworthy error last night was the pass to Lawrence, otherwise all I saw was a player trying to lift and add some of his own input into the game.
If I'm honest it looks like he's trying to find his role - and what it entails, based upon his own strengths- in the team.

I agree a bench spot is being wasted with this whole experiment. I'd actually prefer that Brooks and Benji play and if there's a utility bench spot, we give that to Walters or Reynolds. As they both bring some type of impact off the bench.

 

[hugh1954]

Brooks has the uncanny ability to take the wrong option, passes to the wrong player regularly,runs when should pass and vice versa, if he can’t understand the game by now he never will,

Excellent post exactly how i feel everytime Brooks gets the ball, especially when the game is on the line ,all you can expect from him is mistakes

 

[Sart0ri]


Brooks does have vision and skill and does play heads up football as shown in this example from round 9.

In this example 5 players worked together to create a brilliant try. No current NRL player can do it by themselves.

Did the whingers notice Mitchell Moses's 3 errors, 4 missed tackles, the failed chip and chases, the multiple times he made the wrong decision in attack?

Some of you need to watch the game with your eyes not your preconceptions and not compare the _game_ of Tigers players with the _highlights_ of other players.

 

[Telltails]


Brooks does have vision and skill and does play heads up football as shown in this example from round 9.

In this example 5 players worked together to create a brilliant try. No current NRL player can do it by themselves.

Did the whingers notice Mitchell Moses's 3 errors, 4 missed tackles, the failed chip and chases, the multiple times he made the wrong decision in attack?

Some of you need to watch the game with your eyes not your preconceptions and not compare the _game_ of Tigers players with the _highlights_ of other players.

It was a great ball.

 

[the_third]

Brooks has the uncanny ability to take the wrong option, passes to the wrong player regularly,runs when should pass and vice versa, if he can’t understand the game by now he never will,

We haven't seen enough of him(from his game time) in the last two weeks to state this though. We all know his issues but you can't realistically determine if he's resolving them based upon his last two games.
He was brought in with 10-15mins to go last week and had little time to leave any mark.
We were under heavy pressure last night but I thought he and Moses Mbye helped in certain plays. Both created half chances from nothing.
Mbye's running game improved as did his involvement to bring others into play. Think one of Doueihi's passes set up a try, but one fell flat.
Also, didn't Luke set up a try??

We don't know what Madge is asking of him and that's all that should matter for the team, going forward.
Last week he appeared to try different things and kept his intensity at a high level, but the limited minutes saw him try a little too hard.
I thought the only noteworthy error last night was the pass to Lawrence, otherwise all I saw was a player trying to lift and add some of his own input into the game.
If I'm honest it looks like he's trying to find his role - and what it entails, based upon his own strengths- in the team.

I agree a bench spot is being wasted with this whole experiment. I'd actually prefer that Brooks and Benji play and if there's a utility bench spot, we give that to Walters or Reynolds. As they both bring some type of impact off the bench.

Brooks has had 4 years. 2 weeks will not change him

 

[bbobb]

I am a fan but think he needs to probably sit out for a period. The issue is that he hasn’t been really firing and I am leaning toward JRey and Benji in the halves. That leaves the bench. I am of the belief that Harry needs a rest at some stage but I think Billy Walters probably offers more from DH than either Brooks or JRey at this stage.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

There are short passes for tries, field goal, long pass, last man cover from behind, soft pass, length of the field try etc. Now where was that checklist again


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29k91Bquq4Q

 

[Lauren]

I am a fan but think he needs to probably sit out for a period. The issue is that he hasn’t been really firing and I am leaning toward JRey and Benji in the halves. That leaves the bench. I am of the belief that Harry needs a rest at some stage but I think Billy Walters probably offers more from DH than either Brooks or JRey at this stage.

I find it interesting you used the word fired up (as in it's his main issue), because the other night pretty much confirmed our biggest let down anyway is the lack of firepower in the backs.
I'd just like to see a halves pairing that offers us more options in attack. Or is simply just competitive enough to get us winning results. We need to settle on our best halves combination going forward, and IMO the past two weeks haven't really given us a clearer image of who they actually are.
Walters was great versus Broncos but terrible against Eels.
I like Reynolds for his energy, but only thinks he works well with Brooks or Benji. Yet when he plays alongside Benji, he doesn't really offer us any more than Luke. And fair enough others don't agree.

My whole point in the argument is that there seems to be a lot comments on here that are unfair assessments of Luke and that we can't really gauge if he's made any improvements or not. He's been playing out of position and as an interchange player nonetheless, yet most arguments have applied all his historical deficiencies as a play making halfback. Which are totally irrelevant to the discussion.

I'm in the same boat as you and everyone else and only wants to see wins, regardless who is there.
I don't mind that he's not in the team but do about how we use our bench.
And this is not aimed at you... But I just find it funny that there's a lot of unjustified comments about Luke's form when his usage over the past 2 weeks give us no real indication (of where he's at).

 

[tony soprano]


Brooks does have vision and skill and does play heads up football as shown in this example from round 9.

In this example 5 players worked together to create a brilliant try. No current NRL player can do it by themselves.

Did the whingers notice Mitchell Moses's 3 errors, 4 missed tackles, the failed chip and chases, the multiple times he made the wrong decision in attack?

Some of you need to watch the game with your eyes not your preconceptions and not compare the _game_ of Tigers players with the _highlights_ of other players.

People also should be aware of the score line and we lost that game.

 

[pawsandclaws1]


Brooks does have vision and skill and does play heads up football as shown in this example from round 9.

In this example 5 players worked together to create a brilliant try. No current NRL player can do it by themselves.

Did the whingers notice Mitchell Moses's 3 errors, 4 missed tackles, the failed chip and chases, the multiple times he made the wrong decision in attack?

Some of you need to watch the game with your eyes not your preconceptions and not compare the _game_ of Tigers players with the _highlights_ of other players.

People also should be aware of the score line and we lost that game.

So Brooks was responsible for the loss as well?

 

[tony soprano]


Brooks does have vision and skill and does play heads up football as shown in this example from round 9.

In this example 5 players worked together to create a brilliant try. No current NRL player can do it by themselves.

Did the whingers notice Mitchell Moses's 3 errors, 4 missed tackles, the failed chip and chases, the multiple times he made the wrong decision in attack?

Some of you need to watch the game with your eyes not your preconceptions and not compare the _game_ of Tigers players with the _highlights_ of other players.

People also should be aware of the score line and we lost that game.

So Brooks was responsible for the loss as well?

Yes

 

[Spud_Murphy]

Time to move him on. Would the Storm take him for Grant?

Would make a great running five eight with a dominate half like Prince or Cronk type.

We will not win a premiership with Brooks at half back

Why would they? They have Hughes and Munster, both are twice the player Brooks will ever be!

 

[hobbo1]

Time to move him on. Would the Storm take him for Grant?

Would make a great running five eight with a dominate half like Prince or Cronk type.

We will not win a premiership with Brooks at half back

Why would they? They have Hughes and Munster, both are twice the player Brooks will ever be!

Munsters coming here

 

[Sart0ri]

So Brooks was responsible for the loss as well?

Yes

Brilliant analysis, you have convinced me. That must be why we beat Newcastle and the Eels.

 

[Needaname]

There are short passes for tries, field goal, long pass, last man cover from behind, soft pass, length of the field try etc. Now where was that checklist again


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29k91Bquq4Q

Ahh the 2018 halfback of the year vision.
Don’t let the critics get that footage, they’ll find it hard to find excuses.
What I did notice though in that footage is that a lot of the play involved Marshall or Mbye (fullback) as a support runner in the play.
Now 2 years on Marshall in my opinion doesn’t have the same legs as he had when he came back to the club. Also with the speed of Doueihi out the back there isn’t as much of a threat there.
What may be an option as Doueihi is a bigger body then Marshall and Mbye is that instead of using Doueihi on the sweep play, have the other two take the ball out the back and have Doueihi play the second receiver option at the line.
Anyway. Without all those cogs in motion Brooks isn’t going to excel. Cleary had him playing at the top of his game. Maguire just hasn’t managed the same. Could it have anything to do with Cleary signing him on a 2 year extension? As oppose the the 5 year deal he signed end of last year...

 

[tony soprano]

Is he signed to 2023?

 

[Russell]

Walters was calling for the ball heaps but Grant was going the other way most of the night, i thought Walters defended really well and id be prepared to give him another week in the top grade

Give him another week. Brooks back for the knights game. Brooks at his best is miles ahead of Walters

Walters was calling for the ball heaps but Grant was going the other way most of the night, i thought Walters defended really well and id be prepared to give him another week in the top grade

Give him another week. Brooks back for the knights game. Brooks at his best is miles ahead of Walters

His best was his debut game ...
For a halfback he has a very limited arsenal

I don’t think it’s limited at all. Short kicking, short passing, even his long kicking has improved plus his running game. He has the skills he’s shown that we just haven’t seen him use that this season. His passing has been off for whatever reason but that’s not to say he doesn’t possess the skills

Short kicking ...can’t thread the needle ❌
Torpedo bomb ..non existent ❌
Short passing ...hospital balls ❌
Long kicking...non existent ❌
Goal kicking ..non existent ❌
Field goal exponent ..non existent ❌
Chip n chase ...non existent ❌
Long spiral pass ...non existent ❌

Had speed and he’s a good defender ✅

Summary : not a halfback

Swap him for Harry Grant ... Maybe Belllamy can do something for him ?

Sorry but a lot of that isn’t true. Forced some of the most dropouts in 2018 and 2019 and we scored more tries off kicks than anyone partly due to Brooks. He has consistently put second rowers into holes the last few years, Lawrence., Garner and MCK can attest to that.

In years gone by his long kicking has been average but this season he did a good job of putting fullback under pressure close to their line with his kicking. Doesn’t have a bomb, long passing is average but not non existent, no goal kicking (not that it’s a requirement for halves) and the chip and chase is pretty much dead, but he has done them quite well in the past especially with Tedesco.

He’s certainly not the complete package but you are not giving him enough credit. We have not seen his best this season and he deserved to be dropped but we should be praying he finds good form again because when he does we are a lot better of a team.

Why are you going back to 2018?
The time is now !

Because you are acting like he doesn’t possess these skills at all, that’s what you’re literally saying. He does have all the skills I mentioned and he showed that in the last 2 seasons. Just because he’s out of form doesn’t mean he is incapable of doing it

But he doesn’t have the skills that’s my point !
7 years and he’s made 1 all stars game which was in 2015 if you want to go back to previous seasons .

Well if you haven't played more than 1 "All Stars" game - you might as well do away with yourself.

 

[bbobb]

I'm in the same boat as you and everyone else and only wants to see wins, regardless who is there.
I don't mind that he's not in the team but do about how we use our bench.
And this is not aimed at you... But I just find it funny that there's a lot of unjustified comments about Luke's form when his usage over the past 2 weeks give us no real indication (of where he's at).

I think Madge made that decision when he benched him. I agree with you that he isn’t a bench player and this role is both unfamiliar and unsuitable.

My feeling is that the issue for fans (and perhaps the coach) is that he hasn’t gone to the next level in terms of game management. He had a stunning year in 2018 and really announced himself but it is a probably fair assumption that he has plateaued if not regressed slightly. Admittedly his defence is terrific for a half and our forwards can be underwhelming at times in terms of setting a platform but as the OP alluded to, parts of his attack and management haven’t evolved in my opinion.

 

[weststigers]

I'm in the same boat as you and everyone else and only wants to see wins, regardless who is there.
I don't mind that he's not in the team but do about how we use our bench.
And this is not aimed at you... But I just find it funny that there's a lot of unjustified comments about Luke's form when his usage over the past 2 weeks give us no real indication (of where he's at).

I think Madge made that decision when he benched him. I agree with you that he isn’t a bench player and this role is both unfamiliar and unsuitable.

My feeling is that the issue for fans (and perhaps the coach) is that he hasn’t gone to the next level in terms of game management. He had a stunning year in 2018 and really announced himself but it is a probably fair assumption that he has plateaued if not regressed slightly. Admittedly his defence is terrific for a half and our forwards can be underwhelming at times in terms of setting a platform but as the OP alluded to, parts of his attack and management haven’t evolved in my opinion.

Let's just circle the wagons and look at what we have to work with in the halves for the next couple of years.

1. Brooks
2. Benji
3. Reynolds
4. Mbye
5. Madden
6. Walters

If we look at Brooks for a moment. He played his junior football alongside Moses. Moses is the more dominant half. Brooks has never had to "own" the team...it's probably not something he is going to learn either. Perhaps he's better suited to 5/8 with a dominant 7?

Benji played well at 7 on the weekend - perhaps we go down that path and see where it takes us?

He's only on $550k per year...very cheap for an NRL half with his experience. I'd like to see what happens if we take the pressure of running the team away from him...

 

[jadtiger]

But my personal opinion is that he needs a coach also…think I stated it as far back to when he won the Dally M Halfback award.

The club tried to do that with Laurie Daley but as to be expected Turdberg knocked that on the head under the brilliant "Fairness but not Equal" policy finding an excuse to stop it.PVL is trying to remove the corruptness and favouritism from the game and has made an impact but more work is required.Hopefully he can redirect his efforts soon from covid-19(due to its control) to a more equitable playing field and not one where some vested still interests control parts of the game