jenny
31-12-06, 07:51 PM
Giant task ahead
By Michael Westlake
December 31, 2006 12:00am
Article from: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
GOLD Coast original Chris "Choppy" Close hopes the Titans understand the magnitude of the task ahead as they prepare to launch the Coast back into rugby league's top flight in March.
Close, Queensland's man of the match in the first two Origin matches, grabbed another slice of league history for himself in March of 1988 when he ran out with the first Gold Coast Giants team against Canterbury.
In a team captained by Billy Johnstone, who is now the Titans' conditioner, Close scored one of his team's two tries as the Giants marked their entry to the NSW Rugby League with a spirited 21-10 loss to the Bulldogs.
Aside from the Brisbane Broncos, who were famously baptised with a 44-10 smashing of defending premier Manly in 1988, Queensland's league teams have found the going tough on debut.
In 1995, the Crushers and Cowboys both lost their first premiership matches when they joined the expanded Australian Rugby League.
In tough first assignments, the Crushers lost 24-6 to defending champion Canberra, while the Cowboys lost 32-16 to 1994 grand finalist, and eventual 1995 premier, Canterbury.
Tellingly, despite their amazing start, the Broncos joined the Giants, Crushers and Cowboys in missing the finals in their first year.
Melbourne's entry in 1998, when it won its first four matches on the way to finishing third, has changed the landscape of what is expected from a new team in the fully professional era.
But Close says the Titans should be wary of expecting too much from themselves too soon.
"I don't think they will understand how tough it is going to be until it happens," Close said. "But I am hoping they have had the right sort of conversations about not expecting too much and just taking it one step at a time.
"No one is expecting miracles from them, so they shouldn't expect it from themselves.
"It is important for their future success. If they put too many expectations on themselves, and they don't deliver, then it creates a culture of disappointment.
"They don't want to be starting out with that sort of culture.
"The Titans have recruited well, but I don't think they are going to go, 'wham, bam, thankyou ma'am'. It is not as easy as that. There is a lot of work involved."
Close said players could expect a different kind of pressure on their shoulders next year as they worked at getting the new club on its feet.
"It is a completely different challenge for a player, because the club has no tradition and no history," he said. "You have to play a part in creating it.
"At the Giants, it was all very exciting ? a brand new club, new uniform, new stadium ? all starting off with a team that we had never played with before.
"It was great to be a part of a club like that, starting out brand new. Not many people get that opportunity, and these guys have that chance with the Titans."
But Close said the Titans ? like the Coast's previous incarnations the Giants, Seagulls and Chargers ? also had to learn to live in the shadow of big brother ? the Broncos.
"I always felt right from the beginning that we were treated as a second-rate club," Close said.
"There was so much hype about the Broncos coming into the competition at the same time, I don't think the media really knew what to make of the Gold Coast.
"We were a Queensland club playing in NSW, at Tweed Heads. So for us, it was like the Queensland media didn't want to know us, and the NSW media didn't give a stuff about us either.
"That made it hard for us to get any sort of profile, and I felt a little short-changed by that, to be honest with you.
"I have no doubt (the Coast) will be in the shadows again and I fear that if the Titans don't have immediate success, that the knives will be slashing right from the beginning, and they won't get the support that they deserve.
"That can be devastating for them, but it is the nature of the beast.
"Australians are like that. They are happy to be on the bandwagon, but they are quick to give you a kick in the **** if you don't perform to their expectations, there's no risk about that.
"It happened with the Cowboys and Crushers as well, and they had to suffer through the early periods because they were another Queensland side, but they weren't the Broncos.
"It is exactly what happened to us, and it was an unfair comparison. Undoubtedly it will happen with the Titans, too.
"But the Titans are there to be the Titans, not the Broncos. The people of the Gold Coast now have something to call their own, and I hope they embrace that."
By Michael Westlake
December 31, 2006 12:00am
Article from: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
GOLD Coast original Chris "Choppy" Close hopes the Titans understand the magnitude of the task ahead as they prepare to launch the Coast back into rugby league's top flight in March.
Close, Queensland's man of the match in the first two Origin matches, grabbed another slice of league history for himself in March of 1988 when he ran out with the first Gold Coast Giants team against Canterbury.
In a team captained by Billy Johnstone, who is now the Titans' conditioner, Close scored one of his team's two tries as the Giants marked their entry to the NSW Rugby League with a spirited 21-10 loss to the Bulldogs.
Aside from the Brisbane Broncos, who were famously baptised with a 44-10 smashing of defending premier Manly in 1988, Queensland's league teams have found the going tough on debut.
In 1995, the Crushers and Cowboys both lost their first premiership matches when they joined the expanded Australian Rugby League.
In tough first assignments, the Crushers lost 24-6 to defending champion Canberra, while the Cowboys lost 32-16 to 1994 grand finalist, and eventual 1995 premier, Canterbury.
Tellingly, despite their amazing start, the Broncos joined the Giants, Crushers and Cowboys in missing the finals in their first year.
Melbourne's entry in 1998, when it won its first four matches on the way to finishing third, has changed the landscape of what is expected from a new team in the fully professional era.
But Close says the Titans should be wary of expecting too much from themselves too soon.
"I don't think they will understand how tough it is going to be until it happens," Close said. "But I am hoping they have had the right sort of conversations about not expecting too much and just taking it one step at a time.
"No one is expecting miracles from them, so they shouldn't expect it from themselves.
"It is important for their future success. If they put too many expectations on themselves, and they don't deliver, then it creates a culture of disappointment.
"They don't want to be starting out with that sort of culture.
"The Titans have recruited well, but I don't think they are going to go, 'wham, bam, thankyou ma'am'. It is not as easy as that. There is a lot of work involved."
Close said players could expect a different kind of pressure on their shoulders next year as they worked at getting the new club on its feet.
"It is a completely different challenge for a player, because the club has no tradition and no history," he said. "You have to play a part in creating it.
"At the Giants, it was all very exciting ? a brand new club, new uniform, new stadium ? all starting off with a team that we had never played with before.
"It was great to be a part of a club like that, starting out brand new. Not many people get that opportunity, and these guys have that chance with the Titans."
But Close said the Titans ? like the Coast's previous incarnations the Giants, Seagulls and Chargers ? also had to learn to live in the shadow of big brother ? the Broncos.
"I always felt right from the beginning that we were treated as a second-rate club," Close said.
"There was so much hype about the Broncos coming into the competition at the same time, I don't think the media really knew what to make of the Gold Coast.
"We were a Queensland club playing in NSW, at Tweed Heads. So for us, it was like the Queensland media didn't want to know us, and the NSW media didn't give a stuff about us either.
"That made it hard for us to get any sort of profile, and I felt a little short-changed by that, to be honest with you.
"I have no doubt (the Coast) will be in the shadows again and I fear that if the Titans don't have immediate success, that the knives will be slashing right from the beginning, and they won't get the support that they deserve.
"That can be devastating for them, but it is the nature of the beast.
"Australians are like that. They are happy to be on the bandwagon, but they are quick to give you a kick in the **** if you don't perform to their expectations, there's no risk about that.
"It happened with the Cowboys and Crushers as well, and they had to suffer through the early periods because they were another Queensland side, but they weren't the Broncos.
"It is exactly what happened to us, and it was an unfair comparison. Undoubtedly it will happen with the Titans, too.
"But the Titans are there to be the Titans, not the Broncos. The people of the Gold Coast now have something to call their own, and I hope they embrace that."