FOOTBALL West has announced the death of WA State team representative Dave Brooks.
Dave played 12 times for the State, mainly during 1975.
Hailing from Newcastle, Dave played for numerous teams in the UK before emigrating to Western Australia.
On arrival in WA he played for Floreat Athena, Sorrento and Balga throughout his State League club career.
His finest moments arguably came while representing Western Australia with distinction.
He made his State team debut in an international challenge game against crack Polish side Legia Warsaw at Perry Lakes Stadium in February, 1975.
The Poles, who boasted star player Kazimierz Deyna - regarded as one of the greatest playmakers of his generation - won a highly entertaining game 4-2.
Incidentally, Deyna played 97 games for Poland and, after over 300 outings with Legia, went on to join Manchester City and later San Diego Sockers. He was only 41 when he died in a car accident in California in 1989.
Brooks impressed enough on his debut as a midfielder to be retained by WA coach Alan Vest and be part of the history-making squad that was captained by Steve Stacey when winning the prestigious Marah Halim Cup in Indonesia in 1975, becoming the first Australian team to win an Asian tournament.
He featured in the group games against Surabaya, Thailand, East Java, Japan, Persija Jakarta, PSMS Medan and Thailand. He scored crucial goals in the wins over Jakarta and Thailand - and was also a key player in the 2-0 grand final victory over South Korea, which was played in front of a 40,000 crowd.
More was to follow for Dave and WA with a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough at Perry Lakes Stadium in May, 1975, followed by a narrow 2-1 defeat to Manchester United (WA missed a penalty in that contest) before an upset victory against Glasgow Rangers winning 2-1, with Brooks playing an integral part in the winning goal.
Following his retirement from the State League, Brooks continued to be involved in the game, playing veterans with Sorrento FC into his 60’s, keenly following the club’s first team and preparing the pitches at Percy Doyle Reserve. 
Outside of football, he was the head-groundsman at McGilivray Oval and played a key role in the preparation of Perth Glory’s training pitches and was a keen observer of their sessions.

PIC ONE: Dave Brooks (left) with WA captain Steve Stacey and the Marah Halim Cup. PIC TWO: Dave receives a certificate from former Football West chairman Kevin Campbell at the 30th anniversary of the Marah Halim victories.