Belief and Patience.
Will 2021 finally bring success and respect to the Gold Coast Titans? They have signed arguably two of the best young forwards in the game in David Fifita from the Broncos and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui from premiers Melbourne Storm.
Justin Holbrook was able to transform the perennial non-achievers to a side in reaching distance of the finals in his first year as an NRL coach, finishing in a very respectful 9th position. Finishing ahead of the their two Queensland teams for the first time in the club's history was a big statement to make.
The Titans need to be congratulated on how they have actively worked to turn their club into a viable destination top talent will consider playing for. Something only a few seasons ago would never have been believed.
Since its inception in 1988, the club has always attracted good talent who either signed at the wrong end of their careers or signed soon got lost in all the off-field delights the Gold Coast has to offer.
After the Gold Coast Chargers were cut from the NRL at the end of the 1998 season, Gold Coast had to wait until 2007 until the Titans entered the NRL.
Initially, the Titans established a solid playing roster under foundation coach John Cartwright.
Inconsistency and off-field issues plagued the Titans for years until a change of ownership in 2017, who knew this was the last chance for the Titans to succeed. The new management has come with determination to bring credibility to the club.
Immortal Mal Meninga was brought in to assist with guiding the club to recruit coaches and players. Holbrook was appointed coach for the 2020 season after new Brisbane coach Kevin Walters turned down an approach and other established coaches were overlooked.
Holbrook, having worked as an assistant coach to Roosters mastermind Trent Robinson, took a chance to advance his career by taking a head coaching position with St Helens in the English Super League.
This move paid off as he won the Super League title in 2019. His time as head coach of St Helens gained him the experience he needed and his success was soon noticed.
Holbrook got off to a less than impressive start to his NRL career with three losses on the trot. A win against the Wests Tigers relieved the pressure and from there he slowly started to turn the club around, including an impressive win against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.
Ash Taylor, the one-time wonder kid and the future of the franchise who had suffered under the weight of expectations, was able to find some of his immense talent again in 2020 under Holbrook.
Still far from his best Taylor, may yet find his confidence with continued support from Holbrook. Playing at five-eighth seemed to free him up from responsibility of guiding the team. That responsibility fell to halfback Jamal Fogarty who excelled in his first full year of first grade.
If the Titans are to continue to improve both Taylor and Fogarty, they will need to play to their best ability. Taylor is still young enough to live up to his potential. To put it mildly, he needs to pull his finger out. The Titans can’t just turn up and hope the new signings will win the games themselves.
The Titans have a real star on the rise in fullback AJ Brimson, who, after missing the beginning of the season due to injury, spectacularly made an immediate impact helping drive the Titans up the ladder. He looked very comfortable in the first State of Origin game before injury ruled him out for the remainder of the series.
If the Titans can settle on their hooker with Mitch Rein, Tanner Boyd and Tyrone Peachey the front runners, they will have a nicely settled spine to fit around the base of the 2020 team, including those aforementioned and Thompson, Fotuaika, Procter, Wallace, Sami and Don.
New signings Fifita, Fa'asuamaleaui, the tough, experienced Herman Ese’ese from Newcastle, Sam McIntyre from Wests Tigers and Patrick Herbert will fill out the squad to elevate the Titans to a team that can be a finals contender.
Sadly the Titans lose the hard-nosed Jai Arrow to South Sydney and club stalwart Ryan James to Canberra, with the club also cutting ties with Bryce Cartwright after three inconsistent years.
Everything points to the Titans being the big improvers of the 2021 season, with semi-final football the minimum goal. Similar expectations were put on Newcastle in 2019 after a large player recruitment and years of failure. As we know they failed to reach the heights as expected.
The Titans management and fans will want success straight away given the talent now assembled. Be patient would be my suggestion. Success will come, just don’t expect miracles straight away.
