The Stat to Fix: Brooks faces daunting Tigers task

NRL.com Stats has crunched the numbers to pin-point the area each team must fix in 2018. For the Wests Tigers, their playmakers' short kicking game is an area they need to improve.

Luke Brooks had to shoulder the majority of the Wests Tigers kicking duties when Mitchell Moses departed for Parramatta, and will again take on plenty of responsibility given recruit Josh Reynolds is not renowned for his prowess off the boot.

The Tigers' 2017 kicking output doesn't bode well, with the black and golds forcing just over one dropout from their opposition a game. Their tally of 29 repeat sets was the third fewest in the NRL.

At the same time, they conceded 26 seven-tackle sets last year by booting the ball dead – again a record that ranked them equal third last across the game.

Those last-tackle options will be a key focus for Ivan Cleary's men in 2018 with Brooks and Reynolds tasked with maintaining pressure when they get their chance inside their opponents' half.