By Dan Walsh
Manly coach Anthony Seibold insists Luke Brooks’ signing on a lucrative four-year deal will not force prodigious playmaker Josh Schuster out of the club.
The Sea Eagles’ significant investment in Brooks, first reported by this masthead, will pitch one of the most maligned players in the game into the halves next season alongside veteran skipper Daly Cherry-Evans.
Brooks’ arrival from November comes as Schuster - who has been emphatic about wanting to play in the halves - continues to weigh up a three-year, $2.4 million extension offer that would keep him at the club until the end of 2027.
As well as Brooks, Manly has also signed Roosters winger Jaxson Paulo (three years) and Tigers back Tommy Talau (two years) from next season, and also locked in a three-year extension for rugby union target Tolu Koula.
Seibold declined to comment on where Brooks would line up in 2024.
Regarding Schuster, sources at Manly have confirmed a potential return to the back-row has been discussed with the 22-year-old.
Josh Schuster remains a key figure in Anthony Seibold’s coaching plans.Credit: NRL Photos
“Josh is across everything that we’ve been planning,” Seibold told this masthead.
“We want Josh to stay, we’ve offered him an extension to his deal and that hasn’t changed. There’s been clear communication with Josh on the areas of the game he needs to grow and the areas that he’s doing well.
“Signing Brooksy adds competition for spots to our group and brings in a quality player who has been a Dally M halfback of the year, who has played 200 games and is only 28 turning 29.”
Brooks recently knocked back a three-year extension from the Tigers, worth around $600,000 annually, to test his value on the open market after 11 seasons at his junior club.
It’s believed the extra year offered by Manly proved pivotal in securing his signature after recently meeting with Seibold.
Brooks has long been a lightning rod for criticism at the joint-venture having never played finals, though he had been in impressive form until suffering a hamstring injury three weeks ago.
Both Tim Sheens and his coaching successor Benji Marshall were keen to retain the playmaker, though other elements of the Tigers hierarchy remained unconvinced.
Brooks ranks as one of the highest earners in the game this year on a back-ended deal worth more than $1 million but has long been prepared to take a significant pay cut on his next contract.
Luke Brooks will arrive at Manly after 11 years with the Tigers.Credit: Getty
Seibold was circumspect regarding the criticism Brooks has worn for years at the Tigers, but believes the influence of Cherry-Evans and the Trbojevic brothers can bring out his best.
“What I like about Brooksy, he’s got a really good left-foot kicking game, he’s a very good runner of the football and he takes the line on really well,” Seibold said.
“Obviously, he’s been the No.7 at the Tigers for a long time, but it wouldn’t be fair for me to comment on what pressure he’s been under, having not been a part of that club.
“What I do think is that the good role models that we’ve got at this club, they can help grow Luke’s game, and we can get him playing the best footy of his career here.”
Brooks’ arrival continues Manly’s roster upheaval as a swap deal that would see Talau start his contract early and send highly rated young half Latu Fainu to the Tigers remains on the table.
Negotiations around that deal and Talau’s arrival will dictate what the club does with $350,000 in salary cap relief granted to sign an outside back after Trbojevic’s season-ending pec rupture while playing for NSW.
Seibold insisted Manly’s extension offer to Schuster is proof the club wants to retain him, but he conceded rival interest could sway the Samoan international if he is a free agent by November 1.
“I’m in constant communication with Josh and his family. We want to keep him at Manly, he’s been here since he was 14.
“He’ll have a decision to make because I’m sure that there’ll be interest from other parties, but we want to keep Josh here and in any case he’s contracted for 2024.”
As reported by this masthead on Monday, a push for the Tigers to pursue Schuster was knocked on the head by Marshall.
The Tigers own halves stocks remain worryingly thin for next year given Adam Doueihi is recovering from an ACL rupture, Brandon Wakeham is off-contract and the club has missed out on Mitchell Moses, Cameron Munster and Shaun Johnson.
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