Andrew Johns says Luke Brooks‘ move from halfback is “a demotion” and he won’t buy any other furphy from the embattled Wests Tigers.
Brooks was shafted from his usual No.7 jumper and will wear the No.6 when he runs out against Parramatta on Easter Monday.
In his place will be Jackson Hastings, who has played two NRL games for the Concord club and was previously out of the NRL for three years.
Brooks has been the Tigers’ halfback for a decade but the club has never played a finals game since his debut. They are winless through five starts in 2022.
He tried to brush off the positional switch when fronting media ahead of the Eels clash, but legendary halfback Johns is under no illusions.
“Huge. It’s a demotion,” Johns told Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
“They will say it’s not, but from wearing the seven to wearing the six, for me it’s a big demotion for Luke Brooks.”
Brooks is somewhat of an NRL enigma.
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He entered the NRL to much fanfare, even likened to Johns himself and touted as the NSW State of Origin halfback long-term.
But after 177 games in the top grade he hasn’t represented his state or country once, hasn’t played in a finals series, and has now lost his jumper to a club newcomer.
Brooks is earning near enough to $950,000 this year, and recent reports claim that salary will be closer to $1.1 million next year.
He tried to leave Concord multiple times throughout the off-season, requesting a release from the Tigers to join Newcastle – but the request was denied.
“I’d like to get inside Luke Brooks’ head and see how he is feeling going into this game (on Monday),” Johns said.
“You could see it as getting a kick up the backside, some motivation. Or he could be thinking ‘well they don’t want me here at halfback’.
“It’s well known he went to them in the off-season trying to get out of his contract.
“I just don’t know where it goes now from here for Luke Brooks.”
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