Gold Coast dummy-half Mitch Rein has admitted he is playing for his future with the Titans this season.
While Rein remains as the Titans' incumbent rake, Gold Coast's head of performance and culture Mal Meninga has previously flagged the likelihood the Tiatns take a dip into the open market to acquire a hooker that will aid the club's push for an inaugural premiership.
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The coups of David Fifita and Tino Fa'asuamaleui ahead of this season placed the Titans as a strong contender for the top-eight in 2021, but there is room for the club to improve, namely at the No.9 jumper.
The Titans have shown progressive interest in Melbourne hooker Brandon Smith, who is likely to be on offer from the 2022 season given an imminent early release from the Storm.
"Rumours are that he has signed a three-year deal." 😮 #NRLhttps://t.co/iZL20tIDJQ
— ZeroTackle.com (@zerotackle) March 24, 2021
With the club openly shopping to rejuvenate their rake options for the future, Rein told The Daily Telegraph that the best message he can send is preforming well on field.
“I’ve just got to do what’s best for the team and put my best foot forward," he said.
“There’s no point me worrying about that stuff I can’t control. It is what it is.
“Of course I (want to keep playing), why would I want to retire? Playing footy’s the best thing in the world.
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“We’ll see how I go. No one is going to re-sign me unless I’m playing well, so I’ve got to do that first.”
Rein joined the Titans in 2018 following a 12 month stint with the Panthers and has gone on to play 53 of his 190 NRL matches with Gold Coast.
The 30-year-old stated his excitement in the direction the Titans are heading after a tough first few seasons with the club.
“There’s been a few ups and downs (over the years at the Titans), that’s for sure. When I first came here we weren’t really going too well.
“It’s been an awesome club to join and everything is looking good for the future.
“They’re getting together a really strong roster. The last two years has been really good.
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“Hopefully we can keep improving week to week and be there at the end of the year.”
The Titans currently have 12 players unsigned for next season, with Rein joined by the likes of Ashley Taylor, Kevin Proctor, Tyrone Peachey and Anthony Don in being off-contract for 2022.
Rein is set to line up in the forward pack for Justin Holbrook this weekend when the Titans travel north to face the Cowboys on Sunday.
Both Rein and Peats were both good enough to either play or be mentioned heavily to be the NSW rake. Both ended up at the Gold Coast and their form dropped off so much so that you rarely heard of either of them unless you supported the Titans.