Andrew Voss highlights harsh Luke Brooks reality after post sparks uproar

Is there a more scrutinised player in the NRL than Luke Brooks? The Wests Tigers halfback's every move is examined, pulled apart, dissected and discussed on TV, radio, in print, online and in the valley of death we know as social media.

Coach Tim Sheens labels the intense focus on Brooks as akin to bullying and, to some degree, he is right. The No.7 is an easy target and some of the shots fired his way have been way OTT.

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Brooks is not the only reason the Tigers won't play finals for a 12th straight season, but he's part of the problem. He's on big money, playing in the worst side in the NRL at a basket case of a club.

The Tigers show no major sign of improvement and Brooks' career has flat-lined. We've said here before both Brooks and the club could have benefitted from a separation.

It's been almost cruel to see the Tigers deny him the exit that may have landed him in a much happier place and eased some of the tension at Concord. It hasn’t happened and they are stuck with each other.

So how much criticism is too much? Former Tigers prop Keith Galloway kicked up some dust at the weekend by suggesting a post by Fox Sports - declaring it had been 365 days since Brooks' last NRL win - was a threat to the player's mental health.

Big Keith wrote: "Post stuff like this, then you'll post about player's (sic) welfare. What a joke!"

Andrew Voss responds to furore over Luke Brooks post

Sorry to break it to you, big fella, but Fox was just stating a fact. It has been a year since Brooks last played in a winning team - there's no hiding from it.

As a highly paid professional sportsman, this sort of drill down is part of the deal. How is any different to pointing out how few runs David Warner has scored over the past couple of years?

"I don’t think there's a broadcaster around the world – whether they're doing the NBA, NFL or EPL – that would ignore or not relay that statistic," Fox Sports commentator Andrew Voss said of the Brooks post.

"No-one likes negative stats but we're a stats game. There's going to be as many negatives as positives.

"If they're negative and you lose, are we meant to not mention them? I say no. I say it's fair game. I think it's part of the job…you've got to handle it (as a professional athlete)."

And that's the harsh reality of it.

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