Luke Brooks hits back! Defiant Wests star insists he ‘couldn’t care less’ about criticism

Luke Brooks has defiantly hit back at his detractors, insisting that he ‘couldn’t care less’ about criticism aimed his way after a turgid start to the season for the Wests Tigers star.

Brooks has failed to justify his $950,000-per-year salary this season, with the 27-year-old’s move from five-eighth to halfback resulting in heavy scrutiny from pundits and fans. 

Michael Maguire has wrung the changes for Easter Monday’s clash with Parra, including moving Brooks back to five-eighth – indicative of his failure to claim halfback for his own.

New recruit Jackson Hastings is expected to steer the ship at No 7 in a blow to Brooks, who will reportedly earn more than $1million next season.

The 27-year-old has come in for strong criticism this season, with Michael Ennis urging him to leave the Tigers so both parties can ‘start fresh’ next year, but Brooks insists he pays no attention to outside noise. 

‘(I) just try to block it out and don’t listen to it. It’s hard to fully block it out because there’s always going to be something that someone brings up, but for me personally I don’t listen to it,’ he said.

‘I’m used to it now, everyone has their digs.

‘But at the same time a lot of people have never done anything in the game, so I couldn’t care less what they say about me. I’m just focused on playing good footy.’ 

The playmaker (right) has come under fire amid the Tigers’ terrible start to the campaign

Michael Maguire has taken the No 7 jersey from Brooks and he admits that he agrees with him

He also opened up on his positional switches, claiming that he plays his ‘best footy’ when he runs the ball but admitted that he has failed to deliver in the past fortnight. 

‘That’s the thing Madge and I spoke about — getting what works for me (right) and playing my best footy. That’s running the ball. So, yeah, I guess that’s the thought behind it — get me running a bit more,’ he added.

‘It was a conversation we both agreed on. If it’s going to help our team, I’m all for it.

‘It’s tough at the moment. We’re not getting the results, but everyone is still positive. I’m staying positive, and I’m just blocking out the outside noise.

‘There’s plenty of the season to go, we’re still confident that we can make something of the season. We’ve made some changes and the boys that are coming in are keen to get their shot.’