What Went Wrong: Gold Coast Titans

[Big Pete]

Bull Shark's post in the Karmichael Hunt thread left me wondering...what did go wrong with the Gold Coast?

This was a club on the up and up that did such a good job in it's initial years recruiting not only talented players but well liked players.

And then it all came undone.

What went wrong and will they have a future in the NRL?

 

[Big Pete]

There is no nice way of saying it.

The Gold Coast Titans are a basket case.

It wasn't always like that. When they came in, there was plenty to like about them but the Titans failed to transition from that phase and have been a complete after-thought ever since.

I think the problems can be boiled down like so...

Management: All that drama involving the Centre of Excellence and salary cap scandals really hurt their brand. Michael Searle was once recognised as one of the best CEOs in the NRL, now he's remembered as a punchline.

Recruitment: Signings like Dave Taylor and Jamal Idris seemed really shallow and beyond that a lot of their signings have been damaged goods. On top of that, some of their re-signings have been quite poor. After all these years, I'm still scratching my head over their decision to sign Will Zillman on a five year deal.

Development: I can't think of anybody who they brought in from their U/20s who really went onto do anything of note. Their best prospect of the lot has been David Mead and at best, he's been a handy depth players. The sad reality is that a lot of their best prospects are signing elsewhere and the only thing they can offer is a first grade spot for others who cannot get a look in at their original club.

Coaching: I think it's fair to say that beyond signing a superstar, the Titans were always going to struggle for direction regardless. Their style of play has been listless for sometime and I cannot think of anything that really worked for them.

How Do They Fix It - The Titans have to assure the fans that under Henry, things will change and they've got to start signing players who can set a good example while having something to offer as well as the odd prospect here and there. I think they can kiss any chance of signing a superstar goodbye, at least for the time being and instead, they've got to focus on playing like a team, just like Penrith have. Tighten things up in the juniors and they may just stand a chance but right now things are not looking good in Robina.

 

[GCBRONCO]

That's a good assessment there Big Pete and to be honest it's going to take a hell of a lot of work to turn things around and I have my doubts they can. The Titans had the best opportunity of any rugby league franchise on the Gold Coast, great financial and public support, a good quality squad for a new expansion side and a good nursery of talent but have not only failed to build on that they have quickly nosedived, no recognised star development has come through which doesn't give them the hero players of their own their fans can attach an identity to. They struggle to draw crowds now, Robina is a great stadium but an absolute crap place to get in and out of. The Suns are by far killing them in popularity here on the Gold Coast and I think a lot of that also has to do with the work the AFL put into them.

 

[Foordy]

Searle: while he did some good things in the early years setting the club up, he ran it into the ground through financial mis-management (bordering on criminal behavior) and also his ego...

Cartwright: their inaugural coach a few good years, but mainly mediocrity. If any other coach had the results of Cartwright, they would have been sacked much earlier.

Recruitment: Poor recruitment on the coast for much of their existence. Paying massive overs for inconsistent players

 

[Kaz]

A Gold Coast team will always fail.

The so called fans have always been fickle. The team wins, they have fans going to games, but they leave in droves when the going gets tough.

Having Seale as CEO was a huge mistake. IMO he was only there to feather his own nest.

The Titans seem to be the team players at the end of their careers go or players who have major problems in their lives go to play for the reminder of the playing career.

Cartwright as coach should have been punted years earlier, but has good friend Searle made sure he was resigned.

About 2 years after Searle left, finally Cartwright was sacked.

Maybe the best thing for the club is to be relocated.

Hopefully with Henry as coach, he can attract some decent players.

 

[Big Pete]

Let's take a look at their recruitment since 2010

Greg Bird - A test standard player but carries a poisonous reputation, especially up the north of the tweed. Instead of just offering him an opportunity to take advantage of the salary cap era, the Titans sign him on and make him captain where he repaid them by pissing it all away.

Riley Brown - A nothing utility player from Sydney who was brought in for depth.

Steve Michaels - A local product who was returning after an unhappy couple of years at the Broncos. Would have been acceptable as a depth player but the Titans insisted to play him much more than they should have.

Joe Tomane - Was a prospect at the Storm and there was a lot of excitement surrounding his arrival at the Titans. Started his stint well, then went through a rough patch and never recovered. Has since found his feet in Union where he's played for the Wallabies. For me, he's a good example of how poor the Titans development is. He should still be there right now.

Clinton Toopi - Basically came from nowhere to fill a spot in the centres during the finals series. Did a job but the Titans had the bright idea of keeping him on an extra year. Like Michaels, he over-stayed his welcome.

2011

Luke Capewell - A handy prospect who simply couldn't step up and play with the consistensy required of him at NRL level.

Beau Henry - Was released by the Knights as per the orders of Bennett and struggled. Pretty much proved that the NYC Player of the Year award meant very little.

2012

Beau Champion - An injury prone player who just never found his rhythm

Luke Douglas - One of their better signings - Douglas holds the record for most consecutive games and is a really handy clubman. Unfortunately that's about the extent of it.

Beau Falloon - Before today's drama, he was a depth player at South Sydney.

Phil Graham - An injury plagued player at the end of their career looking for one last contract...and got one from the Titans.

Jamal Idris - A talented yet flawed centre who had a lot of faults with his game. Was apparently signed on a huge deal and really struggled up north.

Aidan Sezer - One of their better signings. Was one of the better halves in the NYC but wasn't going to be afforded the same opportunities at the Bulldogs that he was at the Titans. The fact he hasn't really gone onto do anything probably says more about the Titans development than it necessarily does about him.

Nate Myles - A Queensland legend who kept finding himself in trouble down in Sydney. Like Bird, was OK as a piece of the puzzle but was made captain much to the bemusement of basically everyone.

2013

Dave Taylor - One of the most skillful players in the game, sadly he's also one of the laziest and dumbest. Was shown the door by Michael Maguire and the Titans were all too happy to sign him.

Brad Takairangi - Was squeezed out of Sydney to fit in the likes of Jennings, SBW and LOD. A handy utility player who was given a permanent spot in the centres where he was a mixed bag.

Albert Kelly - Had infamously gone from club to club before the Titans accepted him. Repaid the faith with a strong year but always seemed like a ticking time bomb and a matter of when as opposed to somebody the club could build around.

2014
Brad Tighe - Was compensation for Idris. A veteran but hasn't really achieved anything and is usually around stragglers.

James Roberts - Had been dumped by Souths and then the Panthers before heading up to the Titans. Just another case of buying damaged goods and is apparently struggling to make the most of this opportunity.

Kalifa Faifai Loa - Had one really good season that he failed to replicate and got into some trouble up north. Hasn't faired much better on the Gold Coast.

Daniel Mortimer - A utility who made a name for himself as a running five eighth during the Eels crazy surge in 2009 before his lack of skills was exposed in 2010. As a utility, he has a bit to offer but as a first choice half, he just isn't up to it yet the Titans insist on him being the man for the job.

Maurice Blair - A solid centre who found himself in trouble at Melbourne so he made his way to the Gold Coast where he did nothing of note.

Paul Carter - A handy prospect who couldn't get a go at the Bulldogs, was playing well at the Titans before he went and buggered it up with two DUIs. A typical Gold Coast player really.

2015

Lachlan Burr - Another Bulldogs forward who couldn't get a go at Canterbury so goes to the Gold Coast looking for opportunity. Hopefully he goes better than Carter.

David Hala - Was squeezed out by the Broncos to sign Boyd, Blair and Gavet. He's an OK depth forward in the same vein as Aaron Cannings.

Josh Hoffman - Another player squeezed out for the same reason. A good player who's yet to really nail a position.

Eddy Pettybourne - A bullocking edge backrow who never really kicked on. Has come back from the English Super League looking for a chance and the Titans were happy to accept him.

Matt Robinson - A solid depth player who did his job at Penrith, no more, no less.

Ryan Simpkins - Similar boat.

So really out of all those...Myles, Douglas and Sezer were their best signings. Says a lot about their predicament.

 

[Super Freak]

I think a lot of people started supporting the Titans because they were sick of the Broncos and Cowboys were too far up north..

Then everything started going downhill and fans just kept leaving. It was mentioned earlier, their fans really are fickle.

I don't think they have a future. Not after this scandal..

If they had managed to sign DCE, then maybe. But not anymore.

 

[Broncoman]

A few things

- Management by Searle was very poor and left the club in debt and in a bad shape. If the club is poorly run and being managed by an idiot you won't get success. Success starts at the top

- They don't recruit players that would appeal to a QLD market and fanbase. I love Greg Bird as a player but I would admit he is unpopular with Queenslanders and doesn't appeal to QLD'ers at all. It's like Paul Gallen signing with us or the Cowboys.

- The Gold Coast in general, The Gold Coast isn't really a sporting city. The Titans and the old GC teams never really produced a star player that was a Gold Coast born and breed junior. The only notable Rugby League players from the coast off the top of my head are Ikin, Boyd, Hannant and Matt Rogers (GC educated and was graded at Southport). The only other notable athletes I know are Sally Pearson and Scott 'Can't bowl Can't throw' Muller. When you think of the Gold Coast you think of the theme parks, Q1, surf, awesome beaches and hot girls, not up and coming quality sportsmen.

- Retention of players hasn't been up to standard. They let go of their 2 most damaging backs last year Kelly and Idris. Idris had a fair reason but they should've kept Kelly as he was someone who really had some X-Factor and unpredictability to keep the defence guessing. Had some problems but they should've kept him as he is 10000 times better than Mortimer.

- They don't engage in the community as much as they could. Engaging with the community and getting out there with the public is a very effective way of gaining loyal support when I feel they don't do as much as they could in that area.

- Our 2010 season and their 2010 season. We missed the finals for the first time in 18 years and they made the top 4 and made the preliminary final. All of a sudden their board was going on about how the Broncos were collapsing and they were on their way to becoming the best and strongest team in Queensland. They got to big for their boots and look where it got them.

It's important for the NRL to support the Titans as a club as dumping or relocating a team based in the 6th largest city in Australia and one of Australia's most popular and glamorous regions would be stupid and would hand over half a million people to AFL exclusively.

 

[Fozz]

That list of recruited players is telling. They just cannot attract the type of players that make other clubs successful and they don't seem to be able to turn any of the junior players into top level players. By failing on both fronts, the club is not an attractive place to players on the market.

 

[Crazy Sam]

I think it's too early and easy to give up on the Titans. Let's not forget that Gold Coast A-League team was only getting crowds of 2-3000 even when performing strongly.

That Centre of Excellence business was a complete mess, and while they had a reasonable squad to start off with their star players were veterans. Unfortunately they weren't able to regenerate or replace these players adequately when they needed to. Like a number of clubs, this probably wasn't helped by the increasing of the salary cap as when they needed a few star players, the other clubs were all able to offer their own players more money.

Like most teams near the bottom they are lacking in the key positions and desperately need a strong leader and a strong half at the very least.

 

[Bucking Beads]

They've just never been able to sign the superstar player in the 1,6,7 or 9 let alone in other positions. As bad as they've been on field their management have been a lot worse. Searle did a good job getting the club started but he has played a huge role in making them the rabble they are today. Zillman on a 5 year deal ffs the guy is barely Q cup level. Cartwright should have been cut long ago. Signing up dickhead after dickhead was never the best idea either. On top of everything else they just can't attract anyone to sponsor them.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Another thing is they haven't really produced any players from their under 20's teams. Poor development has played a huge role in their demise. The Centre of Excellence was a cluster **** from start to finish. They should have build a Leagues Club to help bring money back into the club not a big fancy building to put Administrators in.

 

[Nashy]

There is no reason why the GC shouldn't be able to attract players. I pout their demise down to hanging onto a useless CEO and coach for about 5 years longer than they should.

They were getting all the praise, and it went straight to their head.

Unfortunately, the place is a fucking mess now, and it's going to take a tonne of money and time to get it fixed. David Smith needs to step in and pay their debts off and get them square again.

 

[broncos4life]

I think a lot of people started supporting the Titans because they were sick of the Broncos and Cowboys were too far up north..

Then everything started going downhill and fans just kept leaving. It was mentioned earlier, their fans really are fickle.

I don't think they have a future. Not after this scandal..

If they had managed to sign DCE, then maybe. But not anymore.

I think you have summed up the fan base right there. I have said this many times and I honestly believe the reason their fans are so fickle is because they go for the Titans not because they love the titans, but because the hate the broncos.

When a team is winning (like they were in 2009) those types of fans will be all over the club, mainly to rub it into the Broncos; however when the club is losing they ditch them because hatred for another club can not sustain fans through the tough times

 

[Cult]

They need to just sack all the players involved in this as quickly as possible, throw their money at players like DCE, Napa, Slater, Nathan friend, Morgan, fonua, john Folau, Alex Johnston, tom burgess, Merrin, nightingale and JWH. Even Thaiday or Glenn. Players the fans can get behind. They need to get rid of Bird as well. Queenslanders just don't like him. I know Koukash has a lot of haters but he loves the game and will probably never go broke. He would most definitely help the team. Maybe he will bring some players over from England with him.

 

[Cult]

If the Sharks weren't kicked out for systematic cheating the Titans won't be kicked out because a few players made some dumb decisions. As I said, they need to clear out these players involved and anyone who was aware of it.

 

[Broncoman]

They need to just sack all the players involved in this as quickly as possible, throw their money at players like DCE, Napa, Slater, Nathan friend, Morgan, fonua, john Folau, Alex Johnston, tom burgess, Merrin, nightingale and JWH. Even Thaiday or Glenn. Players the fans can get behind. They need to get rid of Bird as well. Queenslanders just don't like him. I know Koukash has a lot of haters but he loves the game and will probably never go broke. He would most definitely help the team. Maybe he will bring some players over from England with him.

Sacking Bird would be one of the dumbest things for them he has been their best and most consistent player ever since he turned up there.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Sacking Bird would be one of the dumbest things for them he has been their best and most consistent player ever since he turned up there.

Bird is a POS. You've gotta start looking past your NSW bias and get real champ.