‘Don’t know who makes the decisions’: Luke Brook’s telling Tigers reveal
The Wests Tigers are heading for a second straight NRL wooden spoon but it’s only the start of the chaos according to a departing star.
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Exiting Wests Tigers half Luke Brooks has dropped a bomb three weeks before he leaves the club, revealing “I don’t really know who makes the decisions here”.
Brooks has played 11 years at the Wests Tigers and you’d think if anyone would know the inner workings of the club, it’d be a man who’d played more than 200 games in over a decade at the club.
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But just weeks before he leaves for the Manly Sea Eagles, Brooks has dropped a few brutal truths on the long suffering fans.
Coming a day after the Tim Sheens-Benji Marshall coaching succession plan had been moved up a season to 2024, Brooks was peppered with questions about the move at a club media opportunity.
Asked if he felt those in charge hadn’t acted in the club’s best interests of the club, Brooks said via News Corp: “To be honest, I don’t really know who makes the decisions here.”
The Sydney Morning Herald also reported Brooks had a backhanded swipe at the club’s merry-go-round of coaches during his time at the club.
In his 11 years at the Tigers, Brooks has played under eight coaches in Mick Potter, Jason Taylor, Andrew Webster, Ivan Cleary, Michael Maguire, Brett Kimmorley, Sheens and now Marshall.
“I was only thinking about this on Wednesday about how many coaches I’ve had,” Brooks told SMH.
“It’s pretty crazy when you think a player like Cameron Smith had the one coach (Craig Bellamy) his entire career at Melbourne.
“It does make it tough. A new coach comes in, they put in their systems, then a new coach comes in, and the same thing happens again. It’s hard as a player to get that consistency.
“It’s frustrating as a player. There is always something going on. Tim has done a lot for the club, it’s pretty upsetting the way it (his exit) has happened.”
Brooks made the decision to go earlier in the season after the Tigers gave him a deadline to make a call on his future.
He said it essentially sealed his exit.
“I think it was (a deal breaker). When they did that it made my mind up,” he said.
“That’s all done now and there’s nothing we can do. We’ve moved on and I’m just looking forward to finishing the year.”
Brooks will play his final game for the club against the Sea Eagles, and he can’t wait to link up with halfback Daly Cherry-Evans in 2024 after being weighed down by the pressure of wearing the No. 7 on his back at a club that has been starved of success.
“That was one of the reasons I made my decision,” he said.
“I wanted to go over there and play the five-eighth role and play alongside someone like Daly Cherry-Evans because that will take a lot of the pressure off me.
“I’m looking forward to that because it’ll be something new for me.”
Brooks won’t get the chance to play under Marshall next year, with the pair going all the way back to 2013 when the New Zealand superstar shifted to the centres to make way for the exciting rookie.
There are doubts as to whether Marshall is ready for the top gig given he has no experience as a head coach in the lower grades, but Brooks is confident he can handle the intense scrutiny headed his way after a brief apprenticeship under Sheens who lasted just one season in his return with a club that’s set to finish last.
“For me as a half, he’s been really good at knowing the role as a halfback. He’s got a long future as a coach, and that’ll start next year,” the halfback said.
“I think (he’s ready).
“He’s pretty much done a lot of the coaching this year. His knowledge of the game (will help) because he’s got a great understanding of the game and the team that we have and the way that we want to play.
“I think he’ll do a great job.
“It’s not that I don’t care (about what happens in 2024) but I’m not going to be here, so it probably doesn’t affect me. That’s next year. We’ve still got three games to go and we want to finish the season on a high.”
With Martin Gabor, NCA Newswire
Originally published as ‘Don’t know who makes the decisions’: Luke Brook’s telling Tigers reveal
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