Brooks pushes contract talks to side as Tigers try to recover from horror start
Luke Brooks has put contract talks on hold as the playmaker weighs up the biggest decision of his career.
Luke Brooks has given no indication whether he’ll stay with the Wests Tigers beyond 2023, with the beleaguered halfback declaring his next contract is “the last thing on my mind”.
The veteran playmaker faces a huge call in the coming months, when he’ll have to decide if he wants to stay at the Tigers or try his luck elsewhere in a bid to spark his career back to life.
Brooks is into his 11th season and has never played finals footy, which could put the club in a position where it may choose to not extend him or at the very least offer him a reduced deal.
His future will become a major talking point as the season progresses, especially if the Tigers continue to struggle on and off the field.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” Brooks replied when asked about his future.
“There’s a lot going on, so that’s the last thing on my mind. I’ll worry about that when it comes. I’m just focused on trying to get a win.”
A protracted decision could lead to constant intrigue, just like good mate Mitch Moses has gone through at the Eels. It’s fitting the pair play each other on Easter Monday, with the Tigers still searching for their first victory of the year.
Brooks said belief wasn’t the issue but that he and his teammates needed to get better at moving on from mistakes during games instead of dwelling on them.
The Tigers have had a stack of issues on and off the field, with the club scoring the fewest points after five rounds despite preaching an improved attack in the pre-season.
The Tigers’ attacking woes have led to yet another change in the spine, with Adam Doueihi returning to five-eighth while Charlie Staines gets a crack at fullback.
Brooks said he’d like Doueihi to stay in the halves and conceded the constant chopping and changing was taking its toll on the team.
“It’s not up to me. For me, it doesn’t matter who is five-eighth or fullback (because) my job stays the same,” he said.
“It’s not ideal (the changes), but I guess that happens when you’re not winning. For us, we just need to put in a good performance and that eases the pressure.
“I think we work well together. He’s a runner of the ball, so for me, I’ve got to get him in positions to threaten the line.”
The worry on Monday will be just who puts their hand up as the dominant playmaker, given Brooks and Doueihi work best when they run the ball.
But the halfback says it’s up to him and skipper Api Koroisau to lead the team around the park.
“I think it’ll be me. Me and Api will control it and we’ll try to get ‘Ads’ into good positions,” he said.
“For me, playing halfback and on the ball is where I play my best, but still being able to run the ball. We’re not restricted in any way.”
While the spine has changed almost every week, the Tigers’ start is identical to what happened last year when they started 0-5 and then beat the Eels on Easter Monday, thanks to a Jackson Hastings field goal.
They would need a miracle to pull off something similar this time around. Back-rower Shawn Blore says it’s on the players to turn things around.
“It’s no secret that we’ve had a poor season, and we can only blame ourselves,” he said.
“We’ve really let our fans down, but I can assure them that we’re working hard each week and some tough conversations have been had here.”
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