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Tiger cub Luke Brooks stars in debut for Wests Tigers against St George Illawarra
James Hooper The Daily Telegraph August 24, 2013 5:01PM
MAYBE generation next at Wests Tigers aint all doom and gloom after all.
Remember the name Luke Brooks, 18, the new Wests Tigers halfback, because on the evidence submitted at the grand old dame of Australian sport, the Sydney Cricket Ground, this debutant has the potential to be a special player.
Saturday, Brooks and the Tigers legion of talented rookies gave the club’s legion of fans reason to believe there is life beyond Benji Marshall by putting on an attacking masterclass to end a six-match losing streak, downing the Dragons 34-18\. Quite simply, they out-enthused, out-thought, out-skilled and completely outplayed a struggling Dragons outfit, with Brooks scoring a try and having a key hand in two others.
The little halfback threw the final pass for Curtis Sironen to power over in the opening half, then showed another side to his game with an inch-perfect grubber kick for Tim Simona to bag his second try. Perhaps more impressive was the way his judicious kicking game single-handedly orchestrated two repeat sets of six tackles, at one point sending a grubber through with nothing on before hammering through on the chase to wrap Dragons fullback Jason Nightingale up in-goal. It was brilliant and smacked of a special talent. Sure, Brooks had drawn comparisons with the great Andrew Johns prior to even making his debut. But those kind of accolades at such a young age are completely unfair. Remember when Braith Anasta was labelled the next Freddy Fittler? Johns was on hand to witness the Tigers halfback’s debut yesterday, calling the match for Triple M, and was full of praise."What a debut. This young guy’s life is never going to be the same," the Immortal said.
Trailing 6-0 after Dragons forward Leeson Ah Mau powered over inside the opening eight minutes, there were fears the Tigers might fold like a house of cards. Instead, the club’s growing list of emerging superstars stepped up and delivered, with the likes of Curtis Sironen, James Tedesco, Tim Simona and Joel Luani all submitting career-best opening halves. The Tigers scored opening half tries through hooker Luani, Braith Anasta, Sironen and Simona on the stroke of halftime, who scorched 90m against the run of play after a brilliant Sironen ball. Even club outcast Benji Marshall, whose fans have turned the blow torch on the one-time favourite son over the last week, had a solid game.The only problem was, the Tigers clocked off at halftime. When the second half resumed, the Dragons went bang, bang with tries to five-eighth Adam Quinlan and captain Ben Creagh, reducing a 22-6 halftime lead to 22-18 with half an hour to play. Enter Brooks. With the game on the line, the debutant laid on Simona’s second try and then scored one himself to end any hope of a Dragons fight back.
New Tigers boss Grant Mayer’s decision to recently extend the young halfback’s contract until the end of 2017 appeared a masterstroke.
Coach Mick Potter, considered a certainty to be tapped on the shoulder a fortnight ago, would have slept a little easier last night.
James Hooper The Daily Telegraph August 24, 2013 5:01PM
MAYBE generation next at Wests Tigers aint all doom and gloom after all.
Remember the name Luke Brooks, 18, the new Wests Tigers halfback, because on the evidence submitted at the grand old dame of Australian sport, the Sydney Cricket Ground, this debutant has the potential to be a special player.
Saturday, Brooks and the Tigers legion of talented rookies gave the club’s legion of fans reason to believe there is life beyond Benji Marshall by putting on an attacking masterclass to end a six-match losing streak, downing the Dragons 34-18\. Quite simply, they out-enthused, out-thought, out-skilled and completely outplayed a struggling Dragons outfit, with Brooks scoring a try and having a key hand in two others.
The little halfback threw the final pass for Curtis Sironen to power over in the opening half, then showed another side to his game with an inch-perfect grubber kick for Tim Simona to bag his second try. Perhaps more impressive was the way his judicious kicking game single-handedly orchestrated two repeat sets of six tackles, at one point sending a grubber through with nothing on before hammering through on the chase to wrap Dragons fullback Jason Nightingale up in-goal. It was brilliant and smacked of a special talent. Sure, Brooks had drawn comparisons with the great Andrew Johns prior to even making his debut. But those kind of accolades at such a young age are completely unfair. Remember when Braith Anasta was labelled the next Freddy Fittler? Johns was on hand to witness the Tigers halfback’s debut yesterday, calling the match for Triple M, and was full of praise."What a debut. This young guy’s life is never going to be the same," the Immortal said.
Trailing 6-0 after Dragons forward Leeson Ah Mau powered over inside the opening eight minutes, there were fears the Tigers might fold like a house of cards. Instead, the club’s growing list of emerging superstars stepped up and delivered, with the likes of Curtis Sironen, James Tedesco, Tim Simona and Joel Luani all submitting career-best opening halves. The Tigers scored opening half tries through hooker Luani, Braith Anasta, Sironen and Simona on the stroke of halftime, who scorched 90m against the run of play after a brilliant Sironen ball. Even club outcast Benji Marshall, whose fans have turned the blow torch on the one-time favourite son over the last week, had a solid game.The only problem was, the Tigers clocked off at halftime. When the second half resumed, the Dragons went bang, bang with tries to five-eighth Adam Quinlan and captain Ben Creagh, reducing a 22-6 halftime lead to 22-18 with half an hour to play. Enter Brooks. With the game on the line, the debutant laid on Simona’s second try and then scored one himself to end any hope of a Dragons fight back.
New Tigers boss Grant Mayer’s decision to recently extend the young halfback’s contract until the end of 2017 appeared a masterstroke.
Coach Mick Potter, considered a certainty to be tapped on the shoulder a fortnight ago, would have slept a little easier last night.
