Adam Doueihi calls for ugly act towards Luke Brooks in Manly player's return to Leichhardt Oval

Adam Doueihi has called on Wests Tigers supporters to show former fan favourite Luke Brooks no mercy when he makes an emotional return to Leichhardt Oval with Manly on Thursday night. Brooks played 226 NRL games for the Tigers after spending more than a decade at the club, but will now line up for the Sea Eagles in what will be the 29-year-old's first game back at his former spiritual home ground in Sydney's inner-west.

Brooks was celebrated as a hero the last time he played at Leichhardt, with Tigers fans chanting the playmaker's name after he left the field in his 200th match, following a 66-18 flogging of North Queensland. But the reception for Brooks will be very different on Thursday night and Doueihi says his good mate should expect to be booed by those same fans who once sung his praises.

"It'll be good, back at Leichhardt where he has played all his footy," Doueihi said. Hopefully it is not a warm welcome for him." Doueihi says there is no bad blood between Brooks and any of his former teammates but the Tigers centre admitted he fully expects home fans to mercilessly boo the Manly five-eighth when he runs out for the Sea Eagles.

"I hope so, for the 80 minutes," Doueihi said about the boos he expects Brooks to receive. "It's all part of the sport and the fun and games. We had good fun with Brooksy here. I am really good mates with him, (it) will be good to go up against him and try and get the win."

Luke Brooks looks set to end long NRL finals drought

Brooks holds the unwanted record of having the longest current run of games without playing finals footy but if his Manly side can knock off the last-placed Tigers on Thursday night, that drought will officially come to an end. And Doueihi says he's happy to see his mate flourishing at his new club and showing what most good judges have always thought he's capable of.

"He is a really tough fella. I am glad to see him doing well with the change. He is showing everyone the footy he can play," Doueihi said. "Everyone could see he had this potential in him. We had a glimpse of that as soon as he debuted, he was touted as the next Joey Johns after his first game. It's pretty hard to live up to that, especially when the team is not going well around him. It makes it hard for him."

Brooks has flourished with the weight of the world off his shoulders at Manly, where skipper Daly Cherry-Evans and fullback Tom Trbojevic handle the bulk of the organisational work. And if the former Tigers fan favourite can help his current club get another win on Thursday night it will see them close the gap on the fourth-placed Sharks to one point - albeit temporarily. With showdowns against fellow top-four hopefuls Canterbury and Cronulla in their final two games of the regular season, Anthony Seibold's Sea Eagles know a top-four finish is within their grasp.

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Another loss for the Tigers though will leave them with a massive task in trying to avoid a third consecutive wooden spoon, with one win currently separating them from Parramatta, who are second from bottom. The Tigers will be desperate to put on a good show for their die-hard fans at Leichhardt Oval on Thursday night and current Manly forward Aaron Woods - who was also a former Tigers fan favourite - is also adamant Brooks will receive a hostile reception from home fans.

“He’ll be booed, for sure, they booed him as a Tiger but Brooksy looks set to have the last laugh because he’s only a few weeks away from playing in the finals,” Woods told The Sydney Morning Herald. “They won’t care that he hung around so long. Watch how they will treat Stefano (Utoikamanu) next year when he returns with Melbourne. He’ll cop it. The fans don’t give a s**t. But Brooksy won’t care, he’s flying."

with AAP