The Wests Tigers have released a bizarre statement congratulating former halfback Luke Brooks on breaking his finals drought, and it’s fair to say the decision has been met with backlash.
Brooks left the club at the end of 2023 after a decade to join Manly on a four-year deal culminating with his side’s gutsy 24-22 sudden death final win over the Bulldogs on Sunday.
The victory marked the end of Brooks’ unwanted record, featuring in the most first grade games without a finals appearance.
In a strange move, the club released a statement congratulating the 29-year-old for his performance in the maroon and white, acknowledging he’d broken his drought.
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“Wests Tigers wish to congratulate former halfback Luke Brooks on his achievements over the weekend for Manly Warringah Sea Eagles,” the statement said.
“Although he did not play finals footy in his time at the Tigers, Brooks certainly enjoyed his first taste of finals footy on Sunday, helping the Sea Eagles to a 24-22 victory over the Bulldogs.”
Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson also chimed in to publicly congratulate Brooks on the win adding “he showed loyalty when many didn’t” in a possible dig at the litany of past talent who have left the club in recent years.
“On behalf of everyone here at Wests Tigers, I want to congratulate Luke on achieving something that he has wanted for a long time,” Richardson said in a statement.
“Luke spent more than a decade as a Wests Tigers player, so he will always be a part of this family.
“He showed loyalty when many didn’t.”
For Fox League’s James Hooper, the statement the club released was “stranger than fiction”.
“That will deadset do me, did we see Penrith put out statements when Viliame Kikau, Stephen Crichton, any other player who has left make it through to their first finals series?” Hooper asked on NRL360 on Wednesday night.
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“Did the Wests Tigers put a statement out when James Tedesco won grand finals with the Sydney Roosters, when Mitchell Moses took Parramatta to a grand final? No.
“This is one of the most bizarre things and we’ve seen a lot of stranger than fiction days in rugby league, but this is in the grand final.”
Brooks played 205 games and notched 233 points during his time at the Tigers, and came through a period in which the club boasted upcoming talent such as Mitchell Moses and James Tedesco who went on to leave the club.
The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis was as stunned as Hooper, and questioned if the Tigers’ website had been hacked prior to the release.
“I get the sentiment, but I honestly though it was a piss-take,” he said.
“When I saw it, I was like ‘this is not real, someone his poking fun, someone has hacked their website, someone has done something’.”
League legend Braith Anasta also added: “I’m sure Luke really appreciated it”.
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