Incoming Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens has gone on record to assert that he wants halfback Luke Brooks to remain at the club next season.
There have been multiple suggestions that Brooks is angling for a move away from Concord, both from the player himself and outside sources.
Brooks is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a calf injury, and thereโs a belief that he may have played his last game for the club heโs served stoically since 2013.
But Sheens has said the Tigers want Brooks to stay beyond 2023, although the $1.1 million Brooks is entitled to is a lot to ask.
โObviously everyone would prefer it to be at less money,โ Sheens told the Daily Telegraph.
โBut we can sit down and negotiate with him and extend the contract out.โ
The Tigers and Knights will face off this weekend, serving as a reminder that Newcastle are also interested in Brooks โ to the point that Andrew Johns tried to secure his services at the end of last season.
The Knights legend claimed that Brooks needed a change of scenery and that he and the club could each help each other reach their potential, and itโs believed the club still hold that view despite the mounting pressure on coach Adam OโBrien.
Sheens is having none of the speculation though.
โOn the record, heโs contracted. Point blank. He is contracted to us and I expect him to turn up for pre-season training,โ Sheens said.
Despite going to lengths to express his commitment โ and that of Benji Marshall โ to keeping Brooks a one club player, Sheens ultimately fell short of guarantee Brooks would remain.
โUnless the world changes, thatโs what Iโm doing (trying to get Brooks to stay),โ
โCan I ever (guarantee heโll stay)? No one can. But Iโm not indicating heโs leaving.
"I like the kid and I want him in the side. Benji loves him and wants him in the side. But we canโt say any more than that."
