Departing Manly half Kieran Foran has expressed his excitement to link up with David Fifita and Toby Sexton on the Gold Coast next season after inking a reported two-year, $800,000 deal with the Titans.
The Titans confirmed on Sunday that Foran has joined the club, adding a wealth of experience to a young Gold Coast cohort.
The Auckland-born playmaker will join his fifth NRL club from next season after Manly failed to compete with the Titans' offer despite Des Hasler's hopes of retaining Foran's services.
The Sea Eagles were forced to weigh up their five-eighth options for the future as their premiership-winning half battled with emerging utility Josh Schuster for the No.6 jumper.
Manly have seemingly leaned toward the latter, leaving Foran to consider options elsewhere as he plans the final years of his NRL career.
In an interview with News Corp, Foran revealed that he broke the news of his departure to teammates shortly after their 36-22 win over the Tigers on Saturday.
“I spoke to all the boys in the sheds after the game and I got pretty emotional telling them I was going,” Foran said.
“Manly have been brilliant. I honestly can’t say a bad word about them.
“I’m realistic about the situation. When I took this Manly deal, I did it knowing it would be two years for me and that’s it.
“Manly have so much talent coming through and just the way the salary cap is and the players they have, I always knew it was likely to be a two-year thing.
“In an ideal world, it would have been nice to stay on, but I had to be open to opportunities that are out there.
“Manly are in a good position to move on from me. They have Josh Schuster who is an enormous talent. He is so gifted and he is ready to step up.”
The move north will see Foran link up with a promising young spine under senior coach Justin Holbrook, led by Sexton and fullback Jayden Campbell.
A senior role to aid the development of the Titans' youthful stocks has one of several lures that attracted Foran to the Queensland club.
While several other sides had expressed their desires in landing the 22-time New Zealand representative, Foran placed a focus of his own on Gold Coast.
“When it became clear I was leaving Manly, I rang [my] manager and said I would like to keep playing, so let’s see what else is out there,” Foran said.
“Deep down, I had my eye on the Gold Coast. I thought the Titans would be a good fit for me. Once Chris Orr (his manager) reached out to them, we got it done quickly, it was the easiest deal I’ve ever done.
“The Titans have a good young side but they probably need some guidance and I have been around the game a long time. Toby Sexton is a good young talent and I think I can form a good combination with him and hopefully play finals footy with the Titans.
“I’m also looking forward to playing with a guy like David Fifita. He is a guy who wins matches and I think a player like myself, I can link well with David and I would love to have him running off me.
“He is such a big, explosive body with footwork and speed and if you can put him in the right positions on the field, he can really do some damage.”
The two-year tenure at the Titans will take Foran into his 16th season in the NRL, having previously held positions with the Eels, Warriors and Bulldogs between two stints at Brookvale.
The 31-year-old has looked to avoid injury setbacks this season, playing every minute of Manly's opening nine games of the year.
The Sea Eagles sit in seventh on the ladder with a record of 5-4 and will look to extend their winnings ways when they travel to Brisbane to face the Broncos in Magic Round next week.
