Titans forge formal link with QLD Cup feeder teams Tweed Heads, Burleigh
GARTH Brennan has underlined his commitment to develop the Gold Coast’s rugby league talent after the Titans inked formal deals with Queensland Cup outfits Tweed and Burleigh to ensure the region’s best players have a pathway to the NRL.
The end of the national under-20 competition, combined with NRL outfits having to contract at least 30 senior players, has made development more important than ever.
It’s an area that Brennan has long believed in. And the Titans have come to the party, establishing formal deals with Burleigh and Tweed and Brennan set to delve deeper into schools and junior programs to ensure the best Gold Coast talent stays with the club.
“Anyone who wants to play NRL at the Gold Coast Titans, they need to realise that the pathway to get here is through Burleigh and Tweed,” Brennan said.
“There’s always going to be times where we have to recruit from outside the area but my first port of call will be Burleigh and Tweed and the local area when it comes to recruitment.
“That was my vision for the club right from the start was to develop from within the Gold Coast area and obviously Burleigh and Tweed play a massive part in that.
“They’re our link to the community to start with, so it’s important that we do have a really good relationship and I’m determined to get as many local Gold Coast kids in those systems as I can for pathways through to the NRL.”
In part, that will mean the feeder clubs playing a Titans brand of football, something Burleigh coach Jimmy Lenihan — who has been at training sessions this week — and Tweed assistant Darryl Fisher, had no problem with.
“I think it’s the right pathway model,” Fisher said.
“There’ll still be a lot of good 20s coming through into the NRL but through the Cup pathway first.
“It makes sense to be as closely aligned with the top side, so that when players do get that opportunity, they’re ready for it.”
Lenihan said Queensland Cup would remain a breeding ground for NRL players and having links formal links with the Titans made sense.
“If you ever want to play first grade, you’ve still got to try and be in a Queensland Cup club and push through,” Lenihan said.
“There’s always going to be support with the Titans and their recruitment but they’ve only got 30 players that they can hold on to and the Coast is a very big area, so I think there’s still an importance in trying to get the best kids funnelling into those systems knowing that that’s the next step.
“If you want to play NRL, you’ve got to play QCup.”
Brennan and his staff will be hands on with Lenihan and Tweed’s coaching staff, including head coach Ben Woolf, the former Titans under-20 mentor already familiar with many of the region’s best players.
“They don’t have to play exactly the same style of football that we do but the fundamentals are going to be pretty much the same,” Brennan said.
“At least that way, it gives the kids a headstart when they come into our systems or get a call-up to the NRL — it’s not foreign to them.
“My coaches and I will be very hands-on with Burleigh and Tweed, we’ll be there to help wherever we can.
“They’re very good coaches in their own right, I don’t want to be hovering over them, but I want them to know that we’re there to help them wherever we can — and hopefully it goes both ways and they can develop some players for us.”
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