Lavavel 5.2.36 MethodNotAllowedHttpException in RouteCollection.php line 218:

Hi I am fairly new to Laravel and am trying to implement a post request for a simple form. I have been following a YouTube Tutorial series (laravel 5 | Section 3 | Part 4 Routing POST Requests) however at 5:46mins in, there is a notification that this method is only applicable to versions prior to Laravel 5.2.

I have tried to edit the VerifyCsrfToken.php method protected $except = ['api/']; but this makes no difference.

My routes.php code snippet:

Route::post('/form-handler', function(\Illuminate\Http\Request $request){
    if(isset($request['option']) && $request['firstName'])
    {
        if(strlen($request['firstName']) > 0){
            return view('forms.formResults', ['action' => $request['option'], 'name' => $request['firstName']]);
        }
        return redirect()->back();
    }
    return redirect()->back(); // Return user back to the page they came from
})->name('form-handler');

My welcome.blade.php code snippet:

<div class="form-group">
    <form action="" method="post" class="form-control">
        <label for="select-action">Select an option:</label>
        <select id="select-action" name="option">
            <option value="option1">Option1</option>
            <option value="option2">Option2</option>
            <option value="option3">Option3</option>
        </select>
        <input type="text" name="firstName">
        <button type="submit">Submit Details</button>
        <input type="hidden" value="" name="_token"> <!-- Laravel Security Measure, Note name must always be '_token'-->
    </form>
</div>

My full error message:

MethodNotAllowedHttpException in RouteCollection.php line 218:
in RouteCollection.php line 218
at RouteCollection->methodNotAllowed(array('POST')) in RouteCollection.php line 205
at RouteCollection->getRouteForMethods(object(Request), array('POST')) in RouteCollection.php line 158
at RouteCollection->match(object(Request)) in Router.php line 821
at Router->findRoute(object(Request)) in Router.php line 691
at Router->dispatchToRoute(object(Request)) in Router.php line 675
at Router->dispatch(object(Request)) in Kernel.php line 246
at Kernel->Illuminate\Foundation\Http\{closure}(object(Request))
at call_user_func(object(Closure), object(Request)) in Pipeline.php line 52
at Pipeline->Illuminate\Routing\{closure}(object(Request)) in Debugbar.php line 49
at Debugbar->handle(object(Request), object(Closure))
at call_user_func_array(array(object(Debugbar), 'handle'), array(object(Request), object(Closure))) in Pipeline.php line 136
at Pipeline->Illuminate\Pipeline\{closure}(object(Request))
at call_user_func(object(Closure), object(Request)) in Pipeline.php line 32
at Pipeline->Illuminate\Routing\{closure}(object(Request)) in CheckForMaintenanceMode.php line 44
at CheckForMaintenanceMode->handle(object(Request), object(Closure))
at call_user_func_array(array(object(CheckForMaintenanceMode), 'handle'), array(object(Request), object(Closure))) in Pipeline.php line 136
at Pipeline->Illuminate\Pipeline\{closure}(object(Request))
at call_user_func(object(Closure), object(Request)) in Pipeline.php line 32
at Pipeline->Illuminate\Routing\{closure}(object(Request))
at call_user_func(object(Closure), object(Request)) in Pipeline.php line 102
at Pipeline->then(object(Closure)) in Kernel.php line 132
at Kernel->sendRequestThroughRouter(object(Request)) in Kernel.php line 99
at Kernel->handle(object(Request)) in index.php line 53

Is this method of implementation completely invalid or does it just need a few tweeks?

Preferably I would like to know what the optimal post method is for retrieving form data, while still protecting your site from cross-site request forgeries.

Any fixes or alternate solutions will be much appreciated.

Please feel free to ask for any resources I may have left out.

via Chebli Mohamed