Freddy tells Brooks: put this paper down DEAN RITCHIE The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) 26 August 2013 LUKE Brooks, if you are reading this, stop now. That is the advice from rugby league great Brad Fittler, who also starred as a teenager in his first-grade debut. Brooks, 18, was brilliant on Saturday for Wests Tigers, scoring a try and setting up two in an eye-catching and mature debut against St George Illawarra. As Andrew Johns suggested, his life has changed forever after 80 minutes of football. Fittler, who roared into first grade for Penrith against Wests at Campbelltown in 1988, yesterday offered some sage advice for young Brooks, who appears ready to take over from Benji Marshall as the Tigers’ dominant playmaker. “I made my debut at Orana Park and had a blinder,’’ Fittler recalled. “But the next game we played Balmain at Leichhardt and I got smashed. “That’s just a little heads up (for Brooks). My advice would be not to read the papers and not to read this article.’’ Former Raiders champion and NSW coach Laurie Daley, who worked at the TigersDragons game for Fox Sports, offered similar advice to the young halfback. “He shouldn’t listen to everyone, just those he trusts,’’ Daley said. “I think he should also try to stay out of the media as much as he can. He has to continue to work hard. He is certainly a huge talent. “A lot of people had heard about him before the weekend but we saw exactly what he is capable of doing on the field. “It was a fantastic debut in a key position.’’ Brooks will return to the Holden Cup this week due to Wests Tigers’ second-tier salary-cap issue, but he already has fans wanting more. The young half recently resigned with Wests Tigers until the end of 2017. “We are being cautious with Luke and will take time to develop him,’’ Tigers chief executive Grant Mayer said. “I understand why there has been so much attention on him, but the club is very keen to take our time with him because many people within the game have seen his ability for some time now.’’ Mayer said the Tigers were comfortable with the NRL’s ruling on the second-tier salary cap limit. “We know the rules (and) understand exactly how this was going to play out,’’ Mayer said. “The NRL has made it very clear and we’ve accepted that. To give the guy a taste (against the Dragons) was great but we know he won’t be there next week.’’ Asked if it was wrong of the league to deny Brooks another game, Mayer said: “Absolutely not. I’m sure the fans would say it is wrong, but you’ve got to take your time with him.’’ Marshall said Brooks is a star of the future. “Without putting too much pressure on him, if he keeps training hard and working the way he works, he’ll be great for them,’’ he said. “The future of the club is definitely bright in terms of talent with ‘Brooksy’ and a few of the other younger guys coming through.’’ The win snapped a six-game losing streak for Wests Tigers and gave hope for next year. However, the Dragons were poor again. “They just didn’t look like they were interested,’’ former Saints winger Wendell Sailor said on Triple M. “That’s probably as bad as it has got for us. We just can’t put 80 minutes together as a club.’’ Copyright Daily Telegraph & Sunday Telegraph
Posted on: Sun, 25 Aug 2013 22:31:09 +0000
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