The numbers which prove it’s time for Tigers to move on Brooks

When Jahream Bula ran onto Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday, he became the 144th player to represent the Wests Tigers since the club last played finals football.

It was 2011, under the coaching of the now-returned Tim Sheens, that the joint venture last played knockout football in the month of September, and since then, they have tried everything to make it back to the top eight.

From moving Tim Sheens on at the end of 2012, they have had all of Michael Potter, Jason Taylor, Ivan Cleary and Michael Maguire, as well as interim coaches Andrew Webster and Brett Kimmorley try their hand in the hot seat, only to land on Sheens as the returning boss in 2023.

Benji Marshall, who himself left the club at the end of 2013, only to return in 2018 and now serve as an assistant coach, has long been something of a face for the club, having led the Concord-based operation to the famous 2005 premiership.

Alongside him on that famous occasion was Robbie Farah, who, like Marshall, had two stints at the club as a player and now finds himself as part of the coaching staff under Sheens.

The old band being back together has brought little in the way of success for the Tigers though, with the club getting off to a horrendous zero and seven start to kick-off the 2023 campaign following Sunday's loss to the Manly Sea Eagles at Campbelltown.

The loss was a horror show for the Tigers. Despite having a scarcely believable 58 per cent of the ball, and completing almost as many sets as Manly had, to go with a monster advantage in the number of times tackled in the opposition 20, a 500 run metre advantage, ten extra tackle breaks, five extra offloads and 90 less tackles having to be made, a 71st-minute try to Jason Saab would put Manly back ahead.

That was followed by a final period of scratchiness by Sheens' side despite Manly missing both Brad Parker and Tom Trbojevic. A late penalty goal, slotted by fill-in fullback Reuben Garrick, would finish off the contest and ensure a six-point win for the travelling Sea Eagles, who have a four and two (as well as a draw) record under new coach Anthony Seibold.

If there were ever a tale of two contrasting sides, this was it, given the horrendous memories which plague the Sea Eagles and their fans whenever the last seven weeks of the 2022 campaign are mentioned.

But I digress, numbers like what the Tigers experienced on Saturday should be enough to win you two football games, let alone one, and yet, like a side who have forgotten how to win, they fumbled the big moments, failed when it counted and slumped to their seventh straight loss.

The problem for the Tigers and their fans of course is that this a club who have tried everything.

Everything apart from moving Luke Brooks out of the side, or changing things at board level, with Justin Pascoe serving in his role since the back-end of the 2015 season.

The two are intrinsically linked to the major problems at the club, but coach Tim Sheens certainly hasn't helped with some of his comments surrounding the Brooks situation, with the halfback off-contract at the end of the season.

In recent weeks, Sheens has suggested that he is happy with Brooks' progression as a player, among other comments of support for the besieged halfback, and claims of ‘bullying' by sections of the media against the now 28-year-old.

The problem with a comment like what Sheens has made though is that, for a 19-year-old, 10-game half, it would cut the mustard.

For someone who is 28, supposed to be in the prime of his career, and having played almost 200 NRL games, it's not even close to the mark.

As mentioned, 144 players have now represented the Tigers since they last played in the finals, but no one comes close in the number of games played to that of Brooks.

The halfback, who is off-contract at season's end, has played a staggering 196 games since he debuted at the back-end of 2013 in a performance against the St George Illawarra Dragons on the Sydney Cricket Ground that set him up for what should have been an excellent career.

In fact, if you look at the numbers, Brooks has played at least 17 games in each of the last nine seasons for the club, and is likely on track to make it ten in a row this time around.

The closest rival over the period to Brooks is David Nofoaluma, who has played 178. The next 'spine' members are Robbie Farah with 108 games, and Benji Marshall with 102, while only ten players have managed 100 games or more for the club since the start of 2012.

This is the top 20.

If Brooks was a winger, or a prop without as much direct influence over the fate of the side, the above table may be slightly less alarming from a Wests Tigers' point of view.

But when Brooks is the halfback (or five-eighth as he has played on occasion), with direct responsibility over the performance of the team, the above table, combined with some of the attack the Tigers have served up in recent times, is diabolical.

The Tigers have lost game after game over the career of Brooks with poor attacking choices, and that was obvious yesterday, as it was during their six-point loss to the Parramatta Eels in Round 6.

The Tigers had 57 per cent possession on Easter Monday, and in an eerie similarity to Sunday's game against Manly, dominated the run metres, tackle breaks, line breaks, offloads and made a stack less tackles than their opposition.

Despite that, they couldn't capitalise. Brooks seemed to find himself tackled with the ball before the last time and time again, and while that specifically wasn't as much of a problem on Sunday against Manly, decisions were.

The absolute bottom line is that you can't, as an NRL club or in any other element of life, continually do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.

That is why, when the Newcastle Knights came knocking over the off-season for the services of Brooks, it was almost baffling that the Tigers didn't chew their hand off to get a deal done.

Instead, they let Jackson Hastings, who was arguably their best player during his first season with the club in 2022, make the trip north up the freeway.

The injury of Adam Doueihi certainly hasn't helped that decision, but based on the last fortnight, and everything the Tigers have served up since their last appearance in the finals, there are genuine concerns they could be the fourth team in Australian top flight rugby league history to not win a game all season.

Right now, it's impossible to see where one comes from, as likely as it is that a team at some point, particularly during Origin, won't turn up for a game with the Tigers.

While there could be the argument that, at times, the Tigers simply haven't had the forward pack to match it, that doesn't ring true for the entire decade of Brooks' career, and certainly doesn't this year following the acquisitions of the likes of Apisai Koroisau, John Bateman, David Klemmer and Isaiah Papali'i.

The bottom line is that when the Tigers have changed everything bar a single player in the club's most important position, it's time for that to be moved.

For Brooks' own good, and for the club's future, the Tigers need to find a new direction in 2024.