‘We practised it twice and stuffed it up’: Luke Brooks ticks off major milestone as five-eighth reveals truth about dazzling scrum play

It was the stat that followed him around throughout his career, but the more than 4000-day wait was totally worth it for Luke Brooks, who had a hand in two crucial plays as Manly stormed home to eliminate the Bulldogs and move into the second week of the finals.

After earning unfair comparisons to Andrew Johns after his debut in 2013, Brooks had to wait 230 games to end his finals drought, with the move from the Tigers to the Sea Eagles paying off handsomely for a man who deserves a bit of luck.

“It was a crazy game and an awesome experience with 50,000 fans here,” he said after the game, with friends and family wearing custom-made Brooksy Finals Era T-shirts at a venue where Taylor Swift performed earlier this year.

“It was so loud, especially the Dogs fans because you know how loud they are, but the Manly fans behind those sticks where we scored (were just as loud). It was awesome.”

A lot had been made about how the five-eighth would handle his first finals game after struggling at Leichhardt Oval against his former side a few weeks ago when his nerves got the better of him.

“They weren’t too bad, to be honest. They were (there) a little bit but nothing more than usual. I felt like it was just another game, to be honest, just with a bigger crowd,” he said.

“I think (the Tigers game) came at the right time. Obviously, it was a new experience for me and I probably didn’t handle it as well as I should have. I think it’s held me in good stead for these big games.

“I wasn’t too nervous going into the game and it definitely helped me.”

Brooks had every right to be nervous with his side down 22-12 in the second half, but he looked calm and ready on the biggest stage when he and halves partner Daly Cherry-Evans executed a scrumptious scrum play that had never come off before.

“You’re right when they say they don’t come off at training,” he said.

“I think we practised it twice and stuffed it up, so I was a little bit worried when we went to it, but it worked perfectly.”

And it was fitting that Brooks would play a key role in the matchwinning try as some daring play on the last tackle by Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic ended up with the playmaker who dished it on quickly before Tolu Koula put on the afterburners and scorched through the defence to break Bulldogs hearts.

“It was a big play by ‘Chez’ and ‘Turbo’ to run it on the last, especially in that field position to get the ball out to Tolu,” he said.

“It was a great bit of individual brilliance to score the try and put us in front.

“I felt someone coming to me and we had a bit of space out there. The winger dropped back, so we knew there was a bit of room out there.”

The Brooks narrative will likely continue ahead of his showdown with great mate James Tedesco on Saturday night, but his coach has no doubt he’s ready to handle the occasion after ticking off a major career milestone.

“He’s such a good guy in the locker room and the guys took to him straight away because he trained so hard with a good attitude,” Anthony Seibold said.

“I was just really happy for him. All I said to him was to enjoy the week and to enjoy the moment. I was really pleased for him that he was able to play in a big game like that.

“He showed what he can do. He’s an outstanding player. I really believe that him and Chez can be the outstanding pairing in the competition. They’re still building that cohesion, but it was a great reward for 4000 days.”