Luke Brooks desperate to end Wests Tigers’ NRL finals drought
Luke Brooks will mark his seventh season in first grade next year and he has only one thing on his mind — ending Wests Tigers’ agonising finals drought.
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Wests Tigers are in the midst of the longest finals drought in the league but Luke Brooks knows the good times are coming and he couldn’t bear to miss out.
Coming off the best season of his career, Brooks signed a new four-year deal with the club earlier this month that will keep him at Concord until the end of 2023.
The reigning Dally M halfback of the year would have had no shortage of suitors on the open market, but could not stomach the thought of the Tigers hitting the big time without him.
“I want to have success at the Tigers. If I was to leave and see the Tigers have success it would hurt me a lot,” Brooks told The Daily Telegraph.
“I want to be the one there. I can see us moving in the right direction, I want to be the one to be a part of that.
“It was a big decision for me — what made it easier was knowing I get to play with a lot of the boys I’ve played with for a long time, and being at a club I love.”
Still just 23, Brooks will mark his seventh season in first grade next year and making his playoff debut will undoubtedly be on his mind.
Since the Tigers last made the finals in 2011 the joint venture has been locked in a seemingly endless vortex of turbulence — they’ve been through four coaches, had two club legends leave on bitter terms only to return and ripped through a series of unsuccessful rebuilds and clean outs, not to mention pinning their future on a Big Four before losing three of them.
Even after two seasons under Ivan Cleary and brief respite from the dysfunction the Tigers were plunged back into chaos by the 47-year old’s exodus to Penrith.
It’s hardly an ideal environment for a developing, young halfback but Brooks has come out the other side and is beginning to fulfil the vast expectations he has carried for so long.
His focus for 2019 is not contracts, be they his own, his teammates or his coaches or injuries, which have torn the Tigers apart more than once, or even the crushing pressure of his own ability.
It’s just all football, and that makes a difference.
“(I have) no injuries, no stuff to worry about, that’s why I wanted to get the contract stuff out of the way, so I could train hard and get my body right for the season ahead,” Brooks said.
“It was good to be able to get it out of the way and not worry about it, especially this time of year.”
In the past, off-field drama has derailed many a promising Tigers season but Brooks believes experience and new coach Michael Maguire cannot only steer the Tigers back on track but push them towards ending their seven-year itch.
“I think the club handled the situation pretty well. It was a weird situation with Ivan leaving but I think they made a good decision bringing in Madge.
“I think the experience (helps). There hasn’t been a year where I’ve played and there hasn’t been drama.
“Hopefully now we can put all that behind us, we’ve got Madge here and he’s fully committed and definitely passionate about taking us forward.
“I think he’s going to get us in the right direction.”
Maguire has quickly made the Tigers his own with Brooks only needing a few weeks to decide the 2014 premiership winner was worth staying for.
“After being under Madge for a couple of weeks I saw he’s the right guy to take us forward,” Brooks said.
“The way he was talking and the way he was coaching, that gave me the confidence to stay.”
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Originally published as Luke Brooks desperate to end Wests Tigers’ NRL finals drought