League icon Andrew Johns has revealed why he wanted embattled halfback Luke Brooksat the Knights, saying he feels "really sorry" for the Wests Tigers star.
Brooks has become somewhat of a whipping boy for Tigers fans amid a horror start to the 2022 season which sees the club second-last on the ladder with a minus 32 point differential.
The 27-year-old was heavily linked with a move to the Knights during the off-season, with Newcastle looking for someone to fill the void left by Mitchell Pearce.
However, with $1.7 million and two years still left on Brooks' Tigers contract, the Knights were unable to pry him out, much to Johns' disappointment.
"He's got all the tools to be a top-line player," Johns told Wide World of Sports' Freddy and the Eighth.
"He should've played representative football, and for whatever reason he hasn't reached his potential, and I still think there's opportunities for him to reach his potential.
"It doesn't look like (he will reach his potential at the Tigers). I feel really sorry for Luke Brooks in some ways.
"I'd hate for him to retire and not have played representative football or not to have played semi-final football, he's too good a player not to."
Johns re-joined Newcastle in a newly-created coaching consultant role at the end of last season, and shared what his advice to Brooks would be, had he joined the club.
"I'd ask him, 'What's your game? Tell me your game. What's your strengths? How do you like to play? Where do you want the ball? How do you like to get the ball to your backrower?'," he said.
"I'd go, 'OK, here are the players around you, what players suit you?'. Work them out and master them and once you've mastered them and everyone around you knows, then you can build from there. I'd totally simplify the way he plays."
Despite the struggles Brooks has endured at the Tigers, league great Brad Fittler said it made no sense for the club to part ways with its No.7.
"Unless you've got someone better to replace him, I'm not sure why you'd be even thinking to get rid of Luke Brooks," he said.
"Out of what happened four years ago when all those players - (Aaron) Woods, (Mitchell) Moses - I think there were six of them (that left), they just stuffed that up royally.
"Whoever was involved there, whether it was managers involved, and the players have to also take responsibility, but at the end of the day (Brooks) was left just carrying the bag."
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Brooks would be a superstar at Newcastle coached by Johns. Let him go.
Brooks would be a superstar at Newcastle coached by Johns. Let him go.
and I would cheer him on. I would be wrapt for Brooks to enjoy success at Newcastle.
Brooks would be a superstar at Newcastle coached by Johns. Let him go.
and I would cheer him on. I would be wrapt for Brooks to enjoy success at Newcastle.
I would too. He's never going to be the player we thought he would be, but I think that's largely because we ruined him. Would be happy for him to experience success elsewhere, he never will here.
Brooks would be a superstar at Newcastle coached by Johns. Let him go.
and I would cheer him on. I would be wrapt for Brooks to enjoy success at Newcastle.
I would too. He's never going to be the player we thought he would be, but I think that's largely because we ruined him. Would be happy for him to experience success elsewhere, he never will here.
I feel sorry for the bloke. He clearly over the years loves the club and IMO has always put in and tried his guts out. Nobody his size gets through the defensive work he does without trying and caring. The way the fans have turned on him is poor IMO. Would love to see him lead a team to the semis. Unlikely it will be us, but he deserves it.
Brooks would be a superstar at Newcastle coached by Johns. Let him go.
and I would cheer him on. I would be wrapt for Brooks to enjoy success at Newcastle.
I would as well.
Brooks would be a superstar at Newcastle coached by Johns. Let him go.
and I would cheer him on. I would be wrapt for Brooks to enjoy success at Newcastle.
I would too. He's never going to be the player we thought he would be, but I think that's largely because we ruined him. Would be happy for him to experience success elsewhere, he never will here.
I feel sorry for the bloke. He clearly over the years loves the club and IMO has always put in and tried his guts out. Nobody his size gets through the defensive work he does without trying and caring. The way the fans have turned on him is poor IMO. Would love to see him lead a team to the semis. Unlikely it will be us, but he deserves it.
IMO I don’t think most of the fans have turned on him. I just think most know he is not the type of halfback Wests Tigers need to be successful.
Michael Maguire has declared Luke Brooks will reach his full potential at the Wests Tigers and even backed him to break into the representative ranks.
A day after Eighth Immortal Johns said he felt sorry for Brooks and questioned if he would ever reach his full potential while he remains at the joint venture, Maguire was happy to agree to disagree.
Maguire added James Roberts would miss Friday’s Campbelltown clash against the Warriors, but it was because of a corked thigh rather than any sanctions over a brief session on the poker machines the night before the Knights loss.
“He will turn up tomorrow night and go hard, that’s what Brooksy will do,” Maguire said on Thursday. “He will reach his potential at this club, I can assure you of that.”
Pressed by the Herald as to what gave him that belief, Maguire said: “Because I watch him every day. I watch how he works and how he goes about things.
“Everyone has an opinion. One thing Brooksy does is he keeps turning up, he’s one of our best trainers, he goes about everything he does to be at his best.
“You need certain things to go on in the game. We were on the back foot [against Newcastle], our forward pack, we made so many errors, and as a halfback, you need a few things to go your way.
“I can see him [playing representative football], and I’ve said that every year since I’ve been here. We need to make sure as a team we’re all performing because you tend to find most players who make rep teams are in those teams that are fairly successful and up the top. We need to fight to make sure we can achieve that.”
Johns wanted Brooks to make the move to Newcastle - twice - during the summer, and said during his Freddy & The Eighth podcast on Wednesday: “He should’ve played representative football, and for whatever reason he hasn’t reached his potential, and I still think there’s opportunities for him to reach his potential. It doesn’t look like [he will reach his potential at the Tigers]. I feel really sorry for Luke Brooks in some ways.”
Brooks, who has played in an All Stars game - but never Origin - will be forced to take on more responsibility when three-game rookie Jock Madden comes into the halves for the suspended Jackson Hastings.
The Tigers have dropped their first two games, and came under fire for the 26-4 loss to the Knights. CEO Justin Pascoe was then struck down by COVID this week, while Tim Sheens underwent minor eye surgery.
There was also a report Daine Laurie and Roberts were spotted playing poker machines in Newcastle on Saturday evening.
Maguire, however, was not concerned, and while he stopped short of declaring if players would be banned from the pokies on future away trips, said: “I’ve spoken to our players about that. We all live a life, and they were home with me about 8.30pm-9pm.
“Players can wander out and get an ice-cream and do the things they want do to, it’s called a life, which most people tend to [have]. They were prepared and ready to go.
“James Roberts looked a million bucks before the game, and if you watched about the third set, he got completely wiped out and [suffered] a whopping big cork in his leg. He won’t play for us tomorrow.
“He put his body on the line in that game, which is disappointing when you [later] hear about players not being ready to go. Most players would have come off with what he went through. It goes to show what it means to him.
“I’m heavily invested in [Jimmy], I’ve known him a long time. But he’s invested a hell of a lot into himself ... it was good to see him take off in the second half, and we haven’t seen Jimmy do that in quite some time. I think he ended up limping after that, but he was able to find his speed.
“He’s done a lot of work to get himself to where he is at the moment, and I’m looking forward to seeing him progress moving forward.”
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Utter nonsense from both Johns and Maguire.
John’s says he has all the tools to be a top player, what tools are these then? It’s just a collection of meaningless words put together and Madge is just as bad responding.
Its really not complicated, Brooks was a highly rated junior who didn’t develop into a top class NRL player for a variety of reasons, mostly down to his own failure to perform when his team needs him the most.
its a tale as old as time, there have been many like him before and will be many after him again. The only thing that sets Brooks apart is the utter nonsense spoken about him by so called experts in Rugby League and the frankly rather bizarre assertion that it’s the Tigers fault that he is poor and he’d be a champion elsewhere despite the fact the is zero evidence to back this up.
Give me strength.
Deadset what planet is he on
That’s a question most of us are asking.
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Brooks is such a dud I'm surprised any Club wants him..
That’s the point though isn’t it, despite the fact there’s a top class rep player hiding inside him being suppressed by the bad old Tigers and waiting to be let out by any decent club there has been only one team in all these years who had a serious crack at taking him away from the Tigers and that was a team who literally couldn’t find any other half back available and ended up signing Adam Clunes instead.
Funny that.
Brooks would be a superstar at Newcastle coached by Johns. Let him go.
and I would cheer him on. I would be wrapt for Brooks to enjoy success at Newcastle.
I would too. He's never going to be the player we thought he would be, but I think that's largely because we ruined him. Would be happy for him to experience success elsewhere, he never will here.
I think we did too
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
