League icon Andrew Johns has revealed why he wanted embattled halfback Luke Brooks at the Knights, saying he feels “really sorry” for the Wests Tigers star.
Brooks has become somewhat of a whipping boy for Tigers fans amid a horror start to the 2022 season which sees the club second-last on the ladder with a minus 32 point differential.
The 27-year-old was heavily linked with a move to the Knights during the off-season, with Newcastle looking for someone to fill the void left by Mitchell Pearce.
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However, with $1.7 million and two years still left on Brooks’ Tigers contract, the Knights were unable to pry him out, much to Johns’ disappointment.
“He’s got all the tools to be a top-line player,” Johns told Wide World of Sports’ Freddy and the Eighth.
“He should’ve played representative football, and for whatever reason he hasn’t reached his potential, and I still think there’s opportunities for him to reach his potential.
“It doesn’t look like (he will reach his potential at the Tigers). I feel really sorry for Luke Brooks in some ways.
“I’d hate for him to retire and not have played representative football or not to have played semi-final football, he’s too good a player not to.”
Johns re-joined Newcastle in a newly-created coaching consultant role at the end of last season, and shared what his advice to Brooks would be, had he joined the club.
“I’d ask him, ‘What’s your game? Tell me your game. What’s your strengths? How do you like to play? Where do you want the ball? How do you like to get the ball to your backrower?’,” he said.
“I’d go, ‘OK, here are the players around you, what players suit you?’. Work them out and master them and once you’ve mastered them and everyone around you knows, then you can build from there. I’d totally simplify the way he plays.”
Despite the struggles Brooks has endured at the Tigers, league great Brad Fittler said it made no sense for the club to part ways with its No.7.
“Unless you’ve got someone better to replace him, I’m not sure why you’d be even thinking to get rid of Luke Brooks,” he said.
“Out of what happened four years ago when all those players – (Aaron) Woods, (Mitchell) Moses – I think there were six of them (that left), they just stuffed that up royally.
“Whoever was involved there, whether it was managers involved, and the players have to also take responsibility, but at the end of the day (Brooks) was left just carrying the bag.”