Re-signed Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks felt the weight of off-contract pressure lift off his shoulders before his match-winning role in Sunday's 18-12 victory over Canterbury.
Brooks looks certain to be the only member of the Tigers' so-called big four to stay with the club beyond the end of this season, having officially put pen to paper earlier this month
He starred on return from a hamstring injury on Sunday at ANZ Stadium, setting up the match-winning try for winger Kevin Naiqama and having another denied by the bunker due to an offside player.
The game was Brooks' first since re-signing with the club for another two seasons, and the 22-year-old revealed he had already felt the difference off the field.
"I felt good coming into this game," he said.
"I felt like I was a lot more confident and relaxed before the game and I felt that showed out there."
Brooks' signature was one of the few pieces of good news for Tigers fans heading into Sunday's match.
He has recently moved in with teammates James Tedesco and Mitchell Moses, who appear headed elsewhere next season.
Moses is signed with Parramatta, but had an early release denied, while the Tigers pulled their offers to Tedesco and captain Aaron Woods on Friday afternoon after a deadline expired without the pair's response.
And Brooks admitted he was finding it difficult to put the speculation about who would be left with him at the club out of his mind.
"You try and avoid it but it's really hard," Brooks said.
"You jump on Facebook and it's popping up everywhere. I just let them make their decision - it's not up to me, it's up to them.
"I would obviously like them all to stay. In a perfect world that would happen.
"But it's not always going to happen - that's footy. You're not going to always play with whoever you want to play with."
Despite their off-field situations, each of the Tigers' four big names starred on Sunday.
Woods was awarded the Anzac Medal for player of the match after he ran 172 metres, while Tedesco set up a try and threatened in attack.
Moses also kicked four-from-four to make the difference in the two-tries-a-piece contest.
But Brooks said he had become frustrated with the big-four label.
"I don't know whoever came up with that," he said.
"It's just the media driving that. I think the frustrating thing is people think we're saying we're the big four.
"We never said that. We're just worried about the team. As (coach) Ivan (Cleary) said it's the whole 17."
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