BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

If it wasn’t for a long-term injury to Adam Doueihi in pre-season last season, Luke Brooks may well have played out the 2022 premiership in the blue and red of the Newcastle Knights.

It was more than a rumour at the time with the Knights desperate for a halfback and Wests Tigers ready to move into a shiny new era with Doueihi and new recruit, Super League Man of Steel, Jackson Hastings leading the way.

Okay, so it wasn’t a “shiny new era”.

But at least it was a different direction.

Wests Tigers fans have seen it all in recent seasons (if you remove premierships, finals campaigns, winning seasons, marketable representative stars, consistency and a fanbase with something to cheer for).

So, they’ve seen all the crappy stuff, okay?

2022 officially became the bottom of the barrel with the club’s first official wooden spoon. But at least they had Hastings. A guy that tried his guts out, engaged with fans on social media and actually appeared prepared to help the club out of the darkness.

That was all turned on its head as they chased down English second-rower John Bateman. It was Bateman or Hastings. The club tapped Hastings on the shoulder and away he went.

Ironically, he’s now at the Knights.

Many years ago, Wests Tigers were at an impossible crossroad.

They had James Tedesco, Aaron Woods, Mitchell Moses and Brooks on their books.

All off-contract and all under the management of the same agent.

Three of the four ended up elsewhere and the club kept Brooks.

Fast forward six years and the rumour mill has Moses returning to the club to partner Brooks with his former teammate off-contract at Parramatta.

“I’ve spoken to him a couple times and told him what the vibe was like and how much it has changed … I’ve been selling the place to him,” Brooks told the media on Monday.

“I’m not too sure what his thoughts are, but I think he’d be a great addition to our side and I’d love to play with him again. I think when we came in (to first grade) we were very young.

“We sort of spoke before about how we would like to have a chance to play together again. Whether that’s now or not, I don’t know, but hopefully he makes a decision soon – the one that’s best for him.”

That’s all well and good but isn’t Brooks himself without a contract?

And while Moses and his next deal is filling up plenty of space in the current news cycle, shouldn’t Wests Tigers be more worried about re-signing Mr. Doueihi who is also looking for a new deal post-2023?

Are the fans happy to accept Moses back if it means another contract for Brooks and the possibility of losing Douiehi and Hastings in the space of 12 months?

Surely, if Wests Tigers secured Moses and Douiehi, the Brooks money could be used elsewhere?

Is nostalgia the only play the club and Wests Tigers fans can rely on, right now?

Better the devil you know.

But that hasn’t got Wests Tigers very far lately, either.

@woodward_curtis