The Gold Coast Titans are the club best prepared to handle the NRL shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Why? Because they've operated on a shoestring budget for so long compared to the powerhouse clubs.
Titans' owners have vowed to keep the team afloat during these testing times, with all NRL clubs set to make drastic layoffs and cut budgets anywhere possible.
Gold Coast employ around 50 staff, less than half of crosstown rivals the Broncos. It is this type of budget spending that means they are better equipped to handle such a financial crisis placed on all the sides.
“Because the business has had to run lean for some time, this situation works in your favour,” Titans CEO Steve Mitchell said.
“We’ve been running very close to what’s a baseline resourcing expectation around an NRL club.
“We don’t have the geared-up resourcing the bigger clubs like the Broncos would have to deliver their programs right across Brisbane. We won’t have to make the same amount of deep cuts that the Broncos might have to make.
“We’re lucky we’ve got two wonderful owners in the Frizelle (Brett and Rebecca) and Kelly (Darryl and Jo) families. They’re great custodians of the club.
“We’re in constant dialogue and they’re steadfast in their belief in the organisation and it’s sustainability going forward.
“That helps greatly. Armed with that, we’re confident we’ll work our way through this and the club won’t be going anywhere.”
Given their size, Mitchell said that the club had not been forced into drastic changes and was yet to cut any staff. However, with the competition on hold, that will likely soon change.
“We’re lucky in the fact we are flexible, we’re not as resourced as some of the really big clubs that have to make dramatic changes,” Mitchell said.
“We’ll definitely need to make sacrifices. That’s everybody. We’ll adjust to our needs so we can get through. We’re seeing that across the country.
“We want to be here at the back of this. We know there is a finite period of time this will go on for. We want to come out the other end of this while we’ve got our people intact so we can get back to work.
“We want to keep all of our people. We’ve got wonderful people who are passionate about the club.
“We don’t want to lose them. They’re part of our family. We’ve got to do our best to retain them.
“We’re going to work our way towards holding on to these guys as best as we can.
“We’re all going to take a hit at some point, but we want them here so when we get through we can get back to business as quickly as possible.”
