Titans leading race for English powerhouse signature

St Helens and England Knights middle forward Matty Lees could soon find himself in the NRL, with the Titans at the front of the pack to sign the powerful prop.

The 24-year-old has set the Super League alight, winning both the Super League and St Helens Young Player of the Year awards in 2019.

Playing 88 games since his debut in 2017, only injuries have held Lees back. A perforated bowel cost him a Wembley Challenge Cup Final, Super League Grand Final and a Great Britain Lions call-up.

In 2021, Lees stayed healthy and helped St Helens win both a historic grand final three-peat in the Super League, and the challenge cup, having also played in the 2020 decider.

According to Wide World of Sports' The Mole, Several NRL clubs have shown interest in the young, experienced forward but the Titans have what seems to be a significant advantage.

The Coach of St Helens in 2017, who called up Matty Lees for his debut, was the current Gold Coast Titans coach Justin Holbrook.

Holbrook remained coach of Lees through to the end of the 2019 season when he left the English Super League to take up a job with the Titans in Australia, and now it appears Lees could follow his former coach, who also loaned out Lees to the Sheffield Eagles for a brief period during 2018.

It looks to be inevitable that the young English cap would want to test his worth in the NRL like so many before him. If that's the case, Justin Holbrook, a Titans team on the rise and the Gold Coast weather might be the perfect combination.