I'm a Brooks fan and will say he is good at running the ball and half the time he is a decent defender, but even I would have hooked him 6 minutes before half time and put Laurie on..... and I don't rate Laurie at all. (not at fullback or half back anyway). Give Brooks a week or 2 in reserve grade to see if he can create a few tries there. That way you can see if he just needs confidence or a change of scenery to pull him out of the slump he is in or whether it's time for him to try his hand at being a plumber or an accountant instead. I really am a Brooks fan but watching him lately is a punish. Change something.... anything!
Im in the same boat. I’ve defended him for a while thinking he just needed another half partner, but the last few have me reconsidering. That said, Laurie has shown in the few times he has played with the ball in hand that he is far from the solution. A couple of weeks ago he put a chip in from 10m out and it landed in the grandstand. Today, coming in fresh for the final 5mins, he put in another shocker. Our only hope is round 10 for bula and smith. Or we put api into the halves and play simpkin and brooks at hooker. Outrageous call but prefer that then Laurie, Ad or brooks there.
Great yardage
great yardage ruined by a crap kick.
Deadset. Great yardage ruined by a crap kick resulting in a seven tackle set try. ATTENTION TO DETAIL!!!!
It’s so frustrating as you can see we are so close. The team looks strong, except for half and fullback.
Love how you’re talking to yourself. Keep up the good work because all of you are correct
Haha, just saw this comment. As a tigers supporter, talking to myself is the least of my worries! We all have some mental health issues to be following this team.
Our forwards we’re ok. A couple of Storm forwards ran for more metres and more post contact, it was pretty even really.Melbourne we’re clunky too, have been for a few weeks but have the guys to provide the moments that make a difference when needed. We offered $1.4 mill a season (or more) to Munster for a reason.The Storm were ordinary today but completed well and the one or two moments from Munster and Coates probably the difference. That’s one of quite a few things we’ve lacked for a number of years, those kind of players who can come up with those moments that make a difference. Nearly every other club has one, two or three of those kind of players. We should still be able to win more games than we are but are lacking the footy smarts to execute a simple game plan very well.
Grant, Munster, olam and brooks were the difference today. Unlike previous weeks, I reckon the opposition looked ordinary today because we made them look ordinary. Much straighter running by the forwards, quick play the balls and service at dummy half and great lines/timing by our edges had them on the back foot a few times. We just fluffed so many opportunities that ruined any momentum and good platform. So close but so far…
Poor game by Brooks today, not sure where to go after that.
Don't think wakeham is the answer either though and neither is Douhie at fullback.
We are completely lacking in those key roles.
Our halves - Brooks, Doueihi and Wakeham are not really up to it. (Do we have anyone else)
Fullbacks - Laurie and Staines, both very very average. Bula looks the goods but we are back to relying on kids.
At least the pack looks good so we may lure someone.
@tiger5150 poor game indeed however I don't want to see will Smith or AD in the halves either. Wakeham was also pretty poor too
2023 we are kind of buggered
@the-last-ronin it still wouldn't suprise me if the club re sign Brooks tbh, should they ? based on today's performance probably not.
This place will go into melt down, if it happens I would say after the parramatta game or not at all
@the-last-ronin it still wouldn't suprise me if the club re sign Brooks tbh, should they ? based on today's performance probably not.
I wouldn’t be surprised either but realistically both parties need a change. It’s been 10 years of glimpses of potential and each party has ruined it for the other at times. If Luke’s smart he’d get out of his Ryde area comfort zone and try something different whether it’s in the NRL or UK.
Just listened to the press conference. Was very happy to hear Api speak and say that the morale in the team was OK and in particular that they "can do the hard stuff, just need to do the pretty stuff" which is exactly how I see it.
To be honest, we have been wanting this team to step up to be a competitive finals team. Its weird to say but I think we are almost there. We have massively improved everything, all the hard stuff, metres gained, defence etc except finishing by our halves. To explain what I mean, think about this thought experiment. What happens if you drop N Cleary in last years team, then this years team? IMO Last years team comes 9-12th. This years team comes 4-8th. Dare I say it, Moses would get this team in the 8.
@tiger5150 poor game indeed however I don't want to see will Smith or AD in the halves either. Wakeham was also pretty poor too
2023 we are kind of buggered
Just to be clear, Im not having a crack at you mate, Ive long been a Brooks booster, but there comes a time.
@the-last-ronin it still wouldn't suprise me if the club re sign Brooks tbh, should they ? based on today's performance probably not.
I wouldn’t be surprised either but realistically both parties need a change. It’s been 10 years of glimpses of potential and each party has ruined it for the other at times. If Luke’s smart he’d get out of his Ryde area comfort zone and try something different whether it’s in the NRL or UK.
100% this. It would be good for Brooks as well. I reckon he would get over there, the different style and quiet possibly carve up and enjoy his last few years. If they never worked out Blake Austins show and go, Brooksy would kill it. he should stay away from Leeds though, Id be pushing for Le Catalans
@the-last-ronin he would do well in SL but can't see it happening, he didn't want to leave family in Sydney when Newcastle was happening.
Maybe dogs move on Flanagan and a spot opens up for him at dogs as a 7 who knows
@the-last-ronin he would do well in SL but can't see it happening, he didn't want to leave family in Sydney when Newcastle was happening.
Maybe dogs move on Flanagan and a spot opens up for him at dogs as a 7 who knows
He’s really close to his mum. They are a very close family so I understand why he does T want to go but it would be good for him personally and professionally
Wakeham was ok, defended pretty well and had some spark and shape in attack but nothing for the highlight reel.
brooks is as diabolical, he is playing like he did at the end of the 2021 season when it looked like we was trying to get Madge sacked. For some ridiculous reason he played as the dominant half today and he stunk the joint up again. He will be gone after the bye round I think.
douhie has nowhere near the motor needed to play 1 and his defence remains atrocious. Honestly have no idea where to play him now but he can’t stay at fullback.
bateman and api and stars. The front row is competitive and we completed far superior than the last 3 rounds. Unfortunately our problems are a pretty hard fix - we need top 8 quality 6/7/1 and they just don’t go to spoon teams. Perhaps we can convince some poms to build a team around Bateman.
