As NRL clubs look hopefully towards next season - we pessimistically ponder the worst-case scenario for each of the 17 teams in 2023.
5. Gold Coast Titans: Foran falters away from Manly
It was an interesting move by Justin Holbrook, letting Jamal Fogarty join the Raiders and handing the number 7 jumper to young Toby Sexton.
Even if Holbrook believed Sexton, a then four-game NRL player, to be the future of the club, it was still a little early to let go of Fogarty.
The decision hurt the Titans last season as the team returned to the bottom four after breaking a five-year finals drought in 2021.
They have now backtracked on that decision, bringing in Foran due to his "wealth of experience," according to Holbrook.
Foran is a great player, but one who has never really tasted much success outside of Manly.
His time at the Warriors and Eels produced little fruit and even at the Bulldogs under Des Hasler, the coach he won a premiership with on the Northern Beaches, he failed to make finals.
His next two seasons under Dean Pay were marred with injury and playing alongside a roster that could not compete against top-level sides.
Hopefully for Titans fans, this narrative of not performing away from the Sea Eagles or being injury prone, is one Foran can shed in 2023.
Before I read this, I thought “the worst that can happen” would be the same for each club: injury to one of its spine.
However – Dolphins, Dragons, West and Warriors – all about the club pulling together. Cows and Roosters – the same (to a lesser degree).
Perhaps this tells us that the influence of the coach – his ability to plan, organise, motivate and control his squad – is at least as important as that of any one player.