Wests Tigers' halfback Luke Brooks has opened up on his future, revealing he hasn't really thought about his next contract.
Brooks, who holds the unwanted record of most NRL games without a finals appearance, is off-contract at the end of the season, and could be set for a move away from the joint-venture.
Brooks has spent much of the past two off-seasons in the headlines with a rumoured move to the Newcastle Knights, however, the Hunter-based club ultimately landed the signature of teammate Jackson Hastings to head north in a player swap that has sent David Klemmer to Leichhardt.
That means the Knights are unlikely to be in the picture for Brooks anymore, with Hastings to partner Kalyn Ponga, who will move from fullback to five-eighth in 2023.
Brooks revealed that while there have been talks with the Tigers, he will wait for the correct time to discuss his future.
โTo be honest I haven't really thought about it too much,โ Brooks told Fox Sports.
โIt's kind of been good, the past few years there's always been stuff about me going or staying so it's been good to have a pre-season where there hasn't been any chat.
โI've been able to focus on footy and that's all I can do. When that comes up it'll come up but at the moment I'm just focused on playing footy.โ
Brooks will return to being the first-choice number seven at the Tigers this year in combination with Adam Doueihi.
Hastings' departure means the duo are the out-and-out first-choice halves, with the joint-venture signing Brandon Wakeham this week to provide cover following another departure, with Jock Madden exiting to join the Brisbane Broncos where he will play second fiddle to Adam Reynolds.
Brooks, a constant source of media pressure and attention, said the pressure placed on him by the media doesn't bother him anymore.
โI'm sort of used to it now, but as long as my teammates and the staff are happy with me then that's all that matters," he said.
โI try to stay away from it (the negativity)... Sometimes it can be hard though because it's everywhere and people ask you about it but as much as I can, I try not to read into it.
โI learnt that a long time ago.โ
At 28-year-old, Brooks is in the final year of a deal worth over $1 million per season, and while he has had some strong moments at the Tigers, including a third-placed finish in the 2018 Dally M Medal count which also saw him named halfback of the year, he has been unable to crack the finals during his time at the Tigers.
A one-time NRL All Stars representative, Brooks has played 186 games for the Tigers since his 2013 debut.
