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Old injury forces Wests Tigers rookie Luke Brooks to take slow road to top
November 9, 2013
Glenn JacksonWests Tigers have even more reason to take a softly-softly approach with young halfback Luke Brooks; a stress fracture in his back - courtesy of an old cricket injury - will disrupt his first off-season.
Brooks, who debuted for the Tigers against St George Illawarra in round 24 and is - at 18 - the club’s first-choice halfback for next year, is unlikely to begin his first pre-season as an NRL player with the rest of his teammates. With most of the squad returning to the training paddock next week, it is still likely to be several weeks before Brooks can join them.
‘‘He’s getting over that now,’’ Tigers coach Mick Potter said of his halfback. ‘‘He’s had six weeks of just rehab and strengthening his core. He’s on the mend. He’s got the all-clear from the doc to progress his training, so he can start his running. It’s unfortunate. From what I’ve been told, it was from when he was a young guy bowling cricket balls.’’
Brooks aggravated the old injury in his final match of the season, playing for the Tigers’ under-20s. During the same game, he also suffered an ankle injury, ending his season on a low.
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‘‘I was worried about his ankle but then I heard the news about his stress fracture,’’ Potter said. ‘‘It was probably lucky it was at the end of the year. You don’t like to see that happen to young kids. He’ll just have a slower build-up. By the time we get quite a few of the blokes coming back from the World Cup, he should be back to full training. It won’t be too disruptive.’’
Assuming Brooks is fully fit, he will start next season at No.7. ‘‘It’ll be up to him whether he stays there all season, or whether he has a stint back,’’ Potter said. ‘‘I’ll be understanding that you can’t do a 10-out-of-10 every week, and cut him just that little bit of slack, given what his age is. But in the end, it’s about winning footy games. It’s that round six to round 12 - it’s going to be how are you going then? Because it is a hard sport at the top.’’
Who plays alongside him at five-eighth remains the subject of fierce debate. Potter has already stated that Braith Anasta, Blake Austin and Tim Moltzen were all vying for the No.6 jersey. Mitchell Moses, who Tigers officials hope will be Brooks’s long-term halves partner, is unlikely to play NRL football until late in the season, if at all in 2014.
Moses has had a slower progression to that of Brooks, and is too light for first grade right now.
The 19-year-old will also have to deal with an injury disruption to start the pre-season. Having suffered a broken leg in 2012, Moses suffered pain in the area towards the end of last season and, after consultation with orthopedic surgeons, it was decided to put his leg back in a plaster cast again. ‘‘He’s only just come out of plaster,’’ Potter said. ‘‘He’s feeling a lot better now. It’s just a matter of progressing his running, progressing his weights, and progressing him to a point where he’s going to get to play - and then see how big he is.’’ -
That is not at all good to hear about Brooks’ back issues, hopefully it is not something that is going to plague him throughout his career.
As for Moses, how little is he? Surely couldn’t be any lighter than Preston Campbell? Although being a small halfback is a lot different than being a small 5/8 with all the extra tackling involved.
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It’s nothing to worry bout. Stress fracture is nothing major. people have them and some don’t even know it.
Posted using RoarFEED 2013
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It’s nothing to worry bout. Stress fracture is nothing major. people have them and some don’t even know it.
Posted using RoarFEED 2013
Dunno about that! A stress fracture could easily turn into a significant fracture you would think in a high contact sport like League. A bit different to someone who is a desk jockey for a living or a couch potato.
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is potter full of it or what, he claims in that statement that its all about winning and if brooks is not playing well he will be dropped. WELL Mr Potter what happened last year with benji and anasta they were crap all year and still played. what did u think that no one would pick u up on it. if u drop brooks i hope the hell anasta has been in nsw cup all year. P.S. WERE OUR ALL WATCHING UR NEXT STATEMENT.
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@bp tiger:
is potter full of it or what, he claims in that statement that its all about winning and if brooks is not playing well he will be dropped. WELL Mr Potter what happened last year with benji and anasta they were crap all year and still played. what did u think that no one would pick u up on it. if u drop brooks i hope the hell anasta has been in nsw cup all year. P.S. WERE OUR ALL WATCHING UR NEXT STATEMENT.
2nd tier salary cap restrictions and lack of other options.
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@bp tiger:
is potter full of it or what, he claims in that statement that its all about winning and if brooks is not playing well he will be dropped. WELL Mr Potter what happened last year with benji and anasta they were crap all year and still played. what did u think that no one would pick u up on it. if u drop brooks i hope the hell anasta has been in nsw cup all year. P.S. WERE OUR ALL WATCHING UR NEXT STATEMENT.
take it easy mate… Look at the side we had last year… No coach would have done anything with that team. I can’t wait until they take that team off the website so I never have to look at it again.
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@bp tiger:
is potter full of it or what, he claims in that statement that its all about winning and if brooks is not playing well he will be dropped. WELL Mr Potter what happened last year with benji and anasta they were crap all year and still played. what did u think that no one would pick u up on it. if u drop brooks i hope the hell anasta has been in nsw cup all year. P.S. WERE OUR ALL WATCHING UR NEXT STATEMENT.
He’s talking about if Brooks is struggling with the transition to top grade….NOT about form,
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@Fade To Black:
It’s nothing to worry bout. Stress fracture is nothing major. people have them and some don’t even know it.
Posted using RoarFEED 2013
Dunno about that! A stress fracture could easily turn into a significant fracture you would think in a high contact sport like League. A bit different to someone who is a desk jockey for a living or a couch potato.
It can be serious but in his case it’s a twinge so they won’t risk or rush it.
Teddy played with a broken leg. But his brake isn’t something that made him stop.
Posted using RoarFEED 2013
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@Fade To Black:
It’s nothing to worry bout. Stress fracture is nothing major. people have them and some don’t even know it.
Posted using RoarFEED 2013
Dunno about that! A stress fracture could easily turn into a significant fracture you would think in a high contact sport like League. A bit different to someone who is a desk jockey for a living or a couch potato.
It can be serious but in his case it’s a twinge so they won’t risk or rush it.
Teddy played with a broken leg. But his brake isn’t something that made him stop.
Posted using RoarFEED 2013
Still not a great thing for a young fella playing league to have…a dodgy back. Farah has struggled with his over the years.
Fingers crossed for Brooks into the future.
