‘Weight off my shoulders’: Why Tigers exit was the call Brooks ‘had to make’

Luke Brooks’ decision to leave the Wests Tigers after more than a decade at the club was “tough” but the star playmaker has conceded it was a call he “had to make.”

In one of his first one-on-one interviews since becoming a Sea Eagle, Brooks told foxsports.com.au that cutting ties with his former club “felt like a weight off my shoulders.”

Brooks was a local Tigers junior and became an overnight sensation after a dazzling debut as a fresh-faced 18-year-old in 2013.

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The following season he was named Dally M Rookie of the Year and in 2018 Brooks not only won Halfback of the Year but he also finished third in the overall Dally M count.

But from a team perspective, the 29-year-old experienced minimal success at the Tigers — in fact he has the unwanted record of most games without a finals appearance.

It still wasn’t easy for Brooks to walk away from the Tigers though.

But he can now safely say it was the right move.

“It was a hard decision that I had to make but in the end I think once it all settled down, coming here, it made me think it was the right decision,” Brooks told foxsports.com.au.

“At the end of the day you’ve got to do what’s best for you.

“Once I did make the decision it sort of felt like a weight off my shoulders and I was happy with my decision.”

Brooks has had opportunities to leave the Tigers in the past — he came close to joining the Knights ahead of the 2023 season — but has always ended up reaffirming his commitment to the Tigers.

Why now? What convinced him to make the jump?

“I think it was just the right opportunity and the right club,” Brooks said.

“I guess I’ve been at the Tigers for so long that stepping out of my comfort zone will be a good thing for me. When you’re constantly doing the same thing, a change is needed.”

The chance to play alongside the likes of Daly Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic was a major draw card too.

“That’s definitely the main thing that attracted me to Manly,” Brooks said of the star-power on Manly’s roster.

“There’s a lot of guys in this side that have played Origin and there’s some very experienced guys that I think will help me.

“I’m looking forward to a new start and hopefully playing some good footy.”

Brooks has spent majority of his first grade career at halfback but will don the No.6 when he partners Cherry-Evans.

“A lot” excites Brooks about playing with an experienced — and traditional — No.7 in Cherry-Evans because he believes it could bring the best out of him.

“(Cherry-Evans) has obviously done everything in the game so I feel like I’m going to learn a lot from him,” Brooks said.

“I’m excited to play with someone of that calibre. He’s played some of his best footy in the last few years — even at the age of 34.

“With the kicking, having a left-footer and a right-footer definitely helps and having two kickers in the team will help.

“And my running game, I feel like I play my best footy when I’m running the ball. I think I’ve got the players around me that’ll help me do that.”

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Brooks endured some pretty dark days at the Tigers, including back-to-back wooden spoons. He admitted the losses do take a toll on a player’s mentality and that did come into play when making the decision to leave.

“You get into a habit of losing when you continually lose and you sort of forget what winning feels like. It was tough,” he said.

“There were years where we were in the hunt to make the eight but the last few years we weren’t in the hunt and that’s hard.

“It did (factor in the decision to leave). I gave it my all there and it obviously wasn’t working.”

Wearing the No.7 put Brooks front and centre of the criticism thrown at the Tigers. He was one of the biggest names at the club for a period if time and was easily the most criticised.

But at Manly, Brooks is overshadowed by Cherry-Evans, the Trbojevic brothers and at times even Josh Schuster.

When asked if it’s a breath of fresh air to go from being the ‘big dog’ to somewhat blending in, Brooks said: “Yeah definitely.

“I think it suits my personality as well — I like to fly under the radar,” he added.

“There’s a lot of ‘big dogs’ here so I can just sit back and let them take (the attention)… That’s another thing that attracted me to the club.”

Brooks was “nervous” before his first day of training at his new club but he has quickly settled in — it helps when fellow ex-Tigers’ Tommy Talau, Josh Aloiai and Aaron Woods are around.

He’s gelling well with head coach Anthony Seibold too.

“He’s a very smart coach, he’s very organised and you know what he wants from you. So far he’s been good,” Brooks said.

A premiership is of course at the top of every player’s list of goals for 2024, but Brooks is also hoping to find the joy in footy again.

“Playing good footy and just enjoying it,” he said when asked what he wants to get out of his first season at Manly.

“I think over the last few years it becomes tough — especially when you’re not winning. Hopefully we win a few games and just enjoy the footy… the rest will come.”