The Wests Tigers ensured there was no happy homecoming for Luke Brooks on Thursday night after stunning the five-eighth’s Manly side 34-26 to keep their hopes of avoiding a third straight wooden spoon alive. But the club’s fans have been called out for booing their former player, considering he gave 11 years of service to the Tigers.

Brooks’ first game back at his former spiritual home at Leichhardt Oval since making the switch to Manly did not end well as the Sea Eagles missed the chance to guarantee their place in the NRL finals. The Sea Eagles had three players sin-binned during the game and would have been filthy with a number or refereeing calls that went against them but the reality is they simply weren’t good enough and only had themselves to blame for a litany of errors and missed tackles.

However, the reception home fans gave Brooks left many viewers disappointed after the long-time Tigers playmaker was booed every time he touched the ball. Sidelined Tigers star Adam Doueihi and former fan favourite Aaron Woods both warned Brooks before the game that he should expect a hostile reception from the Leichhardt faithful and Manly coach Anthony Seibold said before the clash that it was “all part of the game”.

But many viewers thought it was a terrible look to see fans turn so brutally on a player who gave so much for the club over a long period of time. Brooks stayed at the Tigers when Woods and his superstar former teammates James Tedesco and Mitchell Moses all left for rival clubs. And Brooks was often made out to be the scapegoat at a club that hasn’t played finals footy in well over a decade.