Luke Brooks' message to James Tedesco after Wests Tigers' jab at 'disloyal' former players

Manly halfback Luke Brooks has warned his former housemate James Tedesco that the Sea Eagles side have a plan to shut him down on Saturday night. After being forced to wait 4040 days for his first NRL finals appearance, Brooks is plotting to pay his mate some extra attention this weekend as he tries to help secure his side a spot in the final four.

Brooks and Tedesco spent a year living together in Hunter's Hill with Mitch Moses, and they have remained friends since. Tedesco moved out shortly after signing with the Sydney Roosters - winning premierships in his first two seasons at the club. Brooks' other housemate Moses also played finals in his first season away from the joint venture club and featured in a grand final for the Eels in 2022.

However, Brooks stayed at the Tigers meaning he had never featured in a finals footy game until he joined Manly this season. And now Tedesco and the Roosters stand in the way of his ultimate goal of winning a grand final and Brooks said his team's focus is firmly on shutting down his old housemate.

"I probably don't look at it too much like (coming up against a mate)," Brooks said on Thursday. "Maybe afterwards it is something we will look back on.

"Tactically, he is someone who we are going to have to stop. He has been in great form and he does a lot for their side. He is one we will have to stop if we're going to win the game ... If we can limit his opportunities as much as possible, it will help us."

Shane Richardson takes swipe at 'disloyal' Tigers players

Wests Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson congratulated Brooks in a rare and somewhat bizarre statement following Manly's 24-22 win over Canterbury. The halfback left the Tigers at the end of last season after 205 games with the club.

And the joint venture celebrated their former player's first NRL finals win with a statement on their website. "Wests Tigers wish to congratulate former halfback Luke Brooks on his achievements over the weekend for Manly Warringah Sea Eagles," the statement began.

Although there was nothing wrong with the statement, it certainly raised more than a few eyebrows, especially due to Richardson's final line where he took a swipe at other 'disloyal' players who have pulled on a Tigers jersey in the past.

"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. "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.”

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Brooks notably stuck with the struggling Tigers when he was off-contract along with fellow stars Moses, Tedesco and Aaron Woods at the end of the 2017 season. Moses left for Parramatta and Tedesco joined the Roosters at the end of the season, while Woods signed a deal with the Bulldogs before making a shock mid-season switch to Cronulla in 2018.

And maligned by Tigers fans for his inability to inspire a finals berth in his time at the club, Brooks finally decided to leave the Tigers at the end of last year. But his decision to join another club after spending years trying to lift the Tigers to a finals berth was met with overall positivity, unlike the ugly exits of stars such as Tedesco and Moses. But the NRL world still felt the joint venture's message of congratulations to Brooks was not a good look.

with AAP

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