Tigers' legend urges Luke Brooks to make a move for his career

Brooks has struggled during his tenure at the Tigers.

EDITOR | August 16, 2021 - 6:11pm

Wests Tigers' legend Steve Roach has called on half Luke Brooks to re-invigorate his career by leaving Leichhardt.

The Tigers, who sit 13th following a rare win over the North Queensland Cowboys on the weekend, are all but out of finals contention yet again.

Brooks holds the unwanted distinction of being the most capped NRL player without playing finals football, a record he got in late 2019. He has now played more than 160 first grade games without a single finals appearance since his debut in 2013 in what has been a long, barren spell for the Tigers.

His contract and next location has come under the microscope in recent weeks, and while he is contracted to the Tigers until the end of 2023 following a five-year deal signed in 2018, Roach, speaking to news.com.au has urged Brooks to head elsewhere as the 26-year-old searches for a spark to get his career going.

“My personal opinion (is) I think he’s stale,” Roach told news.com.au.

“If I was him, I’d probably be looking to move on.

“I reckon there would be a lot of clubs that would be interested. He’s shown good signs, he’s a good player.

“I think he’s hard done by. I think he’s a pretty good player Luke Brooks.

“You put him in one of those top-flight sides, a lot of people would be talking about him. He won the halfback of the year only a few years ago.

“I just feel sorry for him because he’s the poor bugger that cops all the flak every time the Tigers get beat. He’s the one that seems to cop the raw end of the stick.”

The speculation around Brooks has been persistent this year, and has only followed that of coach Michael Maguire, who has been unable to get his team firing.

Maguire has been at the Tigers since 2019, but has a winning percentage of just 40 per cent, and while the club have made no indication they will look in a different direction yet, patience will be wearing thin with fans, who haven't seen their team in the finals since 2011.