Titans head of culture and Australia coach Mal Meninga says the club will not overpay to retain star free agents Jai Arrow and AJ Brimson.
The duo, who are off contract at the end of 2020, are set to test their value on the open market from Friday and are expected to draw interest from a number of rival clubs.
Both Arrow and Brimson featured for the Kangaroos in the World Cup Nines team in Sydney, as chosen by Meninga.
They are both key parts of the Titans' future, but overpaying them could leave the club in turmoil given their poor recruitment decisions in recent years.
Meninga said improved list management would be a key focus moving forward.
“That’s the balance — we’ve got to be careful with what we do,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“We need to keep the right people for the right reasons and make sure they’re the right deals for us.
“We don’t want to get ourselves in a pickle like we have in recent times.”
The former Raiders great added that retaining Arrow and Brimson was a "priority."
“Jai and AJ (are a priority), absolutely,” he said.
“We’re constantly talking to their managers, but we’re giving them some downtime as well.
“They have already indicated they want to go to market.
“We’re in no rush, they’re still with us next year, but we’ll do everything we possibly can to keep them.
“I’ve promised them that.’’
Hey Mal, don’t waste your breath or time…face reality, they are outta there….heading to Sydney
Best you can do is broker a swap Ryan Matterson for Arrow or AJ.
You have to feel sorry for the Titans if they lose those two players. I hope they want to stay for that clubs wellbeing.
They dont have to pay overs.
Haven’t the cap sombreros taught them by now?
Success or money. The only two reasons that matter where a player plays anymore (loyalty doesn’t exist in today’s game). Money will always buy them over too if it’s enough. Unfortunately for Titans until they’re successful they’re going to be paying overs or lose their star players. Also the players they bring in to replace said players will be on overs.
Roosters have already agreed to sign Arrow for JWH
The r o r t e r s. Have no cap. . .
The. R o r t e r s have no soul…
The. R o r t e r s. Are a souless club…
NanWar78 Arrow is not even half the magnificent forward JWH is. No way will the Roosters offer Arrow a cent. He is another lightweight under 100kg overrated forward like Murray of the South of Sydney rabbit.
He is a stand out performer for the Titans because someone has to be the best player out of the week in week out hopeless Wooden Spooners.
The Roosters have the best two props in the game, forwards win semis and JWH who still has three good seasons in him and Taukeiaho who has at least four good seasons in him is all they need to extend. Not buy. These two powerful props have lead from the front for back2back Premierships. Arrow has lead his team to the spoon. Perhaps he is best suited to Souths or Penrith they are in need of forwards leaving retired or pushed out the exit doors.
The Roosters have no need for the light Arrow and young Fifita certainly is only worth around 550- 600k.
What would you call an overpay tho. I’d say Arrow is worth about 700k but wouldn’t be surprised if someone offered him 850k.
If he was to leave I like the idea of a Ryan Matterson trade. Matterson could play lock, he would not have as many tackles but he would be great as a ball playing forward.
As for AJ Brimson, I do like him but I think he hasn’t proven himself to be consistent enough, he makes easy mistakes and errors. Similar to Dylan Edwards, Matt Dufty, so on and so on. He looks great at times but shocking at others.
I think the titans biggest issues other than retaining these guys is the halves and hooker positions. I like the edges particularly the centres and second rowers with Kelly James Watkins and Peachey. But to get the best from these guys they need a good hooker in the middle to direct the pack and good halves to organise plays. Taylor is overplayed and under loads of pressure, Roberts is average, Boyd is still developing, Peats is past it, Rein isn’t good enough.
I would bring in McCullogh, he’s an amazing leader and consistent work on defence. He will direct the middle and tidy up on D, as for the halves I’m unsure but I’d try bring Corey Norman over. Dragons may be willing to let him go, Norman is under rated as a playmaker and is a really good ball runner.
All that will happen is Titans will match or pay a bit over or offer longer to retain them.
Wooden spooners 2019 to contenders in 2 seasons under Holbrook and his massive clean out next season
Unfortunately when at the bottom you need to pay overs to keep/attract good players.
Arrow is being paid $900,000 a season now. Any club that wants to buy him, would have to offer that much or more.
Or, $400,000 in Henny Penny dollars. Plus a car , an education package, a future coaching role , payments for mentoring young players, payments for being a guest speaker & sponsorships from the corporate sector. ( From companies with no association to the club he plays for. )
If both have one year left on their contracts, why not say if you want “top dollar” for your services, then do your best to turn the team around. Do more leadership roles, do more community work and make youself a valuable asset for a team. Being an outstanding player of a losing side is not enough. You have to be an outstanding all round individual. Make your name (Brand) more likeable to the public and more people will want you to play for them.