Adam Doueihi wants Luke Brooks to be given a rowdy reception at Leichhardt, happy for Wests Tigers fans to boo the Manly five-eighth on his return.
Brooks will play against the Tigers for the first time on Thursday night, with a quirk of the draw meaning Manly have not played the Tigers until round 25 this year.
In his last outing at Leichhardt, Brooks' name was chanted by fans after he left the field in his 200th match following a 66-18 flogging of North Queensland.
He decided weeks later to knock back a deal to stay at the Tigers for a 12th season, and has flourished with the weight of the world off his shoulders at Manly.
"It'll be good, back at Leichhardt where he has played all his footy," Doueihi said.
"Hopefully it is not a warm welcome for him."
Asked if it was only natural that the Leichhardt crowd would boo the 29-year-old, Doueihi quipped: "I hope so, for the 80 minutes.
"It's all part of the sport and the fun and games.
"We had good fun with Brooksy here. I am really good mates with him, (it) will be good to go up against him and try and get the win."
A Manly win on Thursday night would wrap up a top-eight spot, and give Brooks the chance to end the longest wait to play finals football in the NRL.
And Doueihi said he was genuinely happy to see Brooks end that long drought, noting a change in his demeanour while watching the Sea Eagles this year.
"He is a really tough fella. I am glad to see him doing well with the change. He is showing everyone the footy he can play," Doueihi said.
"Everyone could see he had this potential in him. We had a glimpse of that as soon as he debuted, he was touted as the next Joey Johns after his first game.
"It's pretty hard to live up to that, especially when the team is not going well around him. It makes it hard for him.
"To see him playing good footy at Manly is a really big effort for him and I'm proud of him."
A Tigers win would also ensure their last-round clash with Parramatta will determine the wooden spoon, regardless of Eels results before then.
Once renowned for their ninth-place finishes just outside the finals, the Tigers are now trying to avoid becoming only the second team in 30 years to collect three straight wooden spoons.
"We've spoken internally about trying to avoid that spoon,'' Doueihi said.
"I've been here for the past two seasons, and it's not a good feeling having that next to your name.
"To put ourselves in a chance not to win it this year is definitely a motivation towards a strong finish to the season."
