ANOTHER club has snapped up reported Leeds Rhinos target Luke Brooks, whose future at Wests Tigers is now over beyond 2023.
The halfback has been subject to considerable speculation ever since last year, when he was linked with a potential move to the Newcastle Knights.
The Knights, however, went with Brooks’ Wests teammate at the time, Jackson Hastings, with Brooks expected to stay at Concord.
That stay, though, looked to be increasingly unlikely with a number of clubs reportedly making Brooks a target – including the North Queensland Cowboys and Super League’s Leeds Rhinos.
Rhinos head coach Rohan Smith had previously said this about a potential move for Brooks: “He is a good player, if he was here that would be good,” Smith said.
“But to my knowledge I don’t know anything about that and I can go to sleep knowing that I can tell you guys that I know absolutely nothing about that.”
However, the Sea Eagles have now confirmed the capture of Brooks.
“Luke is a quality half-back, a former Dally M half back of the year, and brings over 200 games of experience to our club,’’ said Manly head coach Anthony Seibold.
“He has got a fantastic left foot kicking game and is a really good runner of the football.
“We feel as though he will add to the spine players we have already got at our club.”
Josh Schuster is yet to have been offered a new deal at Manly and the playmaker has been under fire for his lack of consistency in 2023 whilst Kieran Foran left the Sea Eagles for the Gold Coast Titans going into last season.
Meanwhile, Leeds have a halfback dilemma to contend with going into 2024 with both Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer out of contract at the end of the season.
