Is Luke brooks the piece we’ve been missing

[jbb/james]

Yeah.
Daley has some weaknesses to his game, although having said that, he is genuine Australian Test halfback quality, and has been one of the best for the last dozen+ years.
Not quite as good as Johns, or Thurston, or even Cronk probably, even though he has at least as many skills as those. There was something in their approach to the game that put them on a different level.
As for Cleary, he's now being spoken about as potentially being the greatest player of all time, and after his grand final heroics I wouldn't discount that.
I suspect some fans may appreciate DCE more after he's retired. Won't be easy to replace.
Meanwhile I think the partnership with Brooks should be pretty exciting.

he is a quality footy player for sure, but for all of his gifts we are probably a bottom 6 side far too often under his realm .only Tom has made us look like contenders.
He is a freak though and the cherry in stacked sides

By 2025 we will be regretting letting the fainus go and signing chez to the same coin. with brooks , arthur, schuster, humphries, lawnton and the vesrsatility of croker we may regret that next season. I reckon this was a fulton masterstroke ,

all the talk is latu is still a season away but samuela certainly is the ingredient the pack is missing NOW. he is the 13 from what i saw. His relationship with huamole could end up being key in our team moving forward

latu may not be the MAN, but after 10 long years , either is chez, no matter how skilled or commited he is, he just doesnt make players around him better with his footy deeds

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

he is a quality footy player for sure, but for all of his gifts we are probably a bottom 6 side far too often under his realm .only Tom has made us look like contenders.
He is a freak though and the cherry in stacked sides

By 2025 we will be regretting letting the fainus go and signing chez to the same coin. with brooks , arthur, schuster, humphries, lawnton and the vesrsatility of croker we may regret that next season. I reckon this was a fulton masterstroke ,

all the talk is latu is still a season away but samuela certainly is the ingredient the pack is missing NOW. he is the 13 from what i saw. His relationship with huamole could end up being key in our team moving forward

latu may not be the MAN, but after 10 long years , either is chez, no matter how skilled or commited he is, he just doesnt make players around him better with his footy deeds

The Fainus was a massive call. Huge.
Without any insider knowledge, I'm backing it as the right call, but it wouldn't be the first time a retention decision has blown up in someone's face. And it does have that potential.
However ... good luck, Benji

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

he just doesnt make players around him better with his footy deeds

That's a very hard one to quantify though.
Meanwhile Daly's still chugging along. He made more tackle busts last year than any half aside from Luai and Munster!

 

[jbb/james]

The Fainus was a massive call. Huge.
Without any insider knowledge, I'm backing it as the right call, but it wouldn't be the first time a retention decision has blown up in someone's face. And it does have that potential.
However ... good luck, Benji

Yeah its a tough one, having not seen too much of Latu. His management would have been painful but as we negotiate with huomole i would have liked Sam here in particular. It was obvious they were close. when sam ran on, huamole made a bee line to slap his back

And sam as 13 Now, ....wow he looked good but there was possible issues and the Manase saga. sometimes people need to just go there seperate ways

Im sure how this pans out has some impact on mestrov if he was involved and not just seibs

 

[jbb/james]

That's a very hard one to quantify though.
Meanwhile Daly's still chugging along. He made more tackle busts last year than any half aside from Luai and Munster!

when you see the impact Tom has on chezs game its easy to see

The right side attack has been perenially broken without Tom. its like england, you go there to finish your career. Oka and koula are under utilised weapons currently . The site wanted to know if Koula was a dud mid last season

Its quantifiable when it happens, suggestive when it doesnt....... maybe

 

[Will on the hill]

when you see the impact Tom has on chezs game its easy to see

The right side attack has been perenially broken without Tom. its like england, you go there to finish your career. Oka and koula are under utilised weapons currently . The site wanted to know if Koula was a dud mid last season

Its quantifiable when it happens, suggestive when it doesnt....... maybe

The best we looked all year was the Dolphins game with Tom at the back, Garrick at right centre, Koula on the left. Sadly we only got to see one game with that setup but it did look like everyone was complementing those around them on that day.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

DCE improved last season by not trying to do it all himself and trusting the talent around him. In fairness he has not played in a settled spine for years and behind a frequently beaten pack. I suspect we will get his very best in the next two years.

 

[madmax]

I think Brooks will become a Manly favourite next year.
‘Brookie Brooks’ is gonna kill it with the calibre of players around him!!!

 

[TheSoaringEagle2023]

If Brooks can aim in defence then we have a chance. If he misses tackles like he does at the Tigers, it will be the same story different year. He's let in some soft tries.

 

[Will on the hill]

If Brooks can aim in defence then we have a chance. If he misses tackles like he does at the Tigers, it will be the same story different year. He's let in some soft tries.

DCE will teach him the judo hip toss.

 

[TheSoaringEagle2023]

DCE will teach him the judo hip toss.

If he does a good job, then Brooks will be saying this to him...

 

[SeaEagleSI1]

Haumole will be his body guard

 

[Phobia]

If Brooks can aim in defence then we have a chance. If he misses tackles like he does at the Tigers, it will be the same story different year. He's let in some soft tries.

My biggest fear would be Brooks missing tackles, right next to Schuster in the 12. A big factor in our team's failures this year was the defensive hole right between 6 and 12, for most of the year. When we succeeded, usually one of Tualigi or Schuster wasn't there. I think Schuster will develop into a good defender over time, but to me Brooks is quite the unknown quantity, and I'm unsure about what I've seen so far from him defensively.

 

[Will on the hill]

If he does a good job, then Brooks will be saying this to him...

View attachment 25569

As long as it isn't "are you waiting to receive my limp penis".

 

[Eagle Eyed]

As long as it isn't "are you waiting to receive my limp penis".

as long as its a succulent one

 

[Disco]

Haumole will be his body guard

Haumole plays right, Brooks will play left.

 

[Pete W]

My biggest fear would be Brooks missing tackles, right next to Schuster in the 12. A big factor in our team's failures this year was the defensive hole right between 6 and 12, for most of the year. When we succeeded, usually one of Tualigi or Schuster wasn't there. I think Schuster will develop into a good defender over time, but to me Brooks is quite the unknown quantity, and I'm unsure about what I've seen so far from him defensively.

Yes my concern too. If only Schu's work ethic did a massive 180, as then you could play him at lock and have Burbo at 12, growing into a notable defender, who could then look out for Brooks.

Whichever way you look at our roster, all roads to premiership success lead to the absolute necessity of both Turbo and Schu fit and playing to their potential.
Everyone else has an important supporting role, but only these two guys can take Manly all the way

 

[Ryan]

Whenever Brooks played for The Tigers, he lifted them from easy beats to competitive. My hope is that he lifts Manly from competitive to contenders.

He is absolutely a level up for a club in my view.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

Brooks is an important factor in our squad. Brooks will give us another dimension in attack and the players around him will benefit. Schu coming to terms with his position in the back row / lock is important because in 2021 he demonstrated an ability to work hard and was effective in both defence and attack producing a high work rate consistently. If he can get that hunger back and roll his sleeves up then he can make a huge contribution to our backrow or at lock. At the moment he looks trim and it looks as though he is on course for a good season. Lets hope injury doesn't cruel him. Fingers crossed.

 

[joshcooper123]

Koula might start on the left? He'd probably be just as effective there.
In fact Koula should probably be given some sort of a roving commission. Bit like Broncos swapped Staggs and Farnworth mid-game a few times.
Koula has the speed to pop up anywhere at any time, I'm sure Seibold is working on some plan to exploit that ability (I say confidently)

i'm sure during the pre season tom will teach koula how to roam effectively just like tom does when he plays centre in origin. I think Garrick will be playing right centre and koula left centre to get koula in the game more. This is because when we go right we usually go short ball to olakau'ata or cut out to saab and last year we had no threat on left side with parker and tuipilotu who are both slow and limit creativity especially when schuster was there half on that side. koula at left centre with brookes providing great shape for him with schuster back row and tom roaming around the back seems like a very attacking left side to back up our already threatening right side