As Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks runs off-contract at the end of the season, the club has a difficult decision to make.
Zero Tackle takes a look at ten realistic options the Tigers could choose to replace the former Dally M Halfback of the Year.
All the players on the list are either off-contract at the end of 2023 or won't have an NRL club going into next season.
The options include six NRL players, three Super League players and an SG Ball halfback.
6Arthur Mourgue (Catalans Dragons)
Debuting at 17, Arthur Mourgue may be a name unfamiliar to some fans due to not having played in the NRL.
However, others might know him as the utility back for the French national team or the Catalans Dragons where he helped lead them to the 2021 Super League Grand Final.
His three-year contract with Catalans will come to an end this season, with many clubs sure to be interested in signing the promising youngster.
Mourgue will bring pure speed from the ruck and can change the game in an instant with the ball in his hands something that Benji Marshall did in his prime.
That’s an imaginative list.
I take it they are all off contract at the end of the year – I’m too lazy to check.
Shaun Johnson is too old for a long-term replacement, and although he is having a great year this year there is no saying he will have a good year next. Ask any Cronulla supporter about his disappointing spell at the club.
Speaking of Cronulla, Daniel Anderson could be worth a punt. He is behind Nico and Tricky Trindall in the halves pecking order, so he might jump at the chance to play first grade, albeit for a struggling club.
The French guy from the Catalans is too big a risk: young, may struggle with the language, different country/culture, struggling team.
Aidan Seezer knows the NRL and could be a sensible pick-up, as could be Loloheaia – or get ’em both ! If not paying a million for Luke, Wests could afford a new guy and a spare.