Neil Henry Titanic recruitment mission for season 2016
TODD BALYM THE COURIER-MAIL SEPTEMBER 14, 2014 12:00AM
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GOLD Coast coach Neil Henry is preparing for a major raid on the 2016 player market with the Titans determined to no longer be seen as the poor cousin of the NRL.
As the Titans board prepare to meet on Wednesday to determine the future structure and direction of the struggling club, Henry and chief executive Graham Annesley have been managing a difficult salary cap in readiness for a 2016 recruitment drive.
Superstars off contract at the end of 2015 include Manly halves Daly Cherry Evans and Kieran Foran, Brisbane halfback Ben Hunt plus NSW stars like Jarryd Hayne and Trent Hodkinson.
With confirmation the NRL has abolished the November 1 hands-off deadline, the Titans could issue offers to any target for 2016 today.
Henry would not identify any potential targets for the future but knows he a needs one more star player to set the club on the path for success for what would be the second season of his three-year coaching deal.
“There is a substantial amount of the cap on the market next year,” Henry said.
“We need to not rush our decisions and get our recruitment right.
“We need to start thinking about the future. If we think players are going to go then we need to know who are our targets, who are our replacements and what area do we lack depth and what area can we get a couple of marquee players to the club and that is probably what we need to look at.
“We need to have a view to the future with our young players coming in too and be a bit astute with players we’ve given an opportunity to and developed some of our own.”
In a series of player meetings last week Henry told existing players who had long-term futures at the Titans and those who were free to look elsewhere.
The player market is in overdrive right now and the Titans remain interested in the likes of Ben Hannant, Darius Boyd and Josh Hoffman for 2015 if they become available and are affordable.
But at this moment their cap space is very tight for 2015, unless some contracted players get offers elsewhere, so for the time being Henry is focused mainly on his second tier options for next season.
But in 2016 the Titans will be armed and ready to bid for some of the biggest names in the NRL.
Part of the problem for Henry and indeed the Titans organisation has been an inability to compete with the corporate opportunities that can be offered the biggest stars in the NRL if they sign for Sydney clubs or move to Brisbane.
But Annesley said a key focus of his was working with Henry and the salary cap to ensure the Titans can be competitive with any club regardless of which player they target.
“We will definitely be in the marketplace for 2016, absolutely,” Annesley said.
“All good clubs nowadays have long term views about their recruitment, you can’t recruit on a strictly year by year basis.
“You need to know who is coming off and when so you can manage your salary cap so when particular players are coming off you want to target you know you have the funds available to do that.
“Planning longer term I know is one of Neil’s priorities.
“You need to make sure when those players hit the market you at least have enough room in your cap to be competitive with other clubs.
“That takes quite a bit of management so I know that is something Neil wants to improve on in the future so we can be in the market for those players when they do come up if we target them.”
Annesley received the long awaited review into the club last Thursday and will present it to the board on Wednesday, a night that could shape the future prospects of a club that has battled in recent times.
Following the meeting Henry should have a clear direction about budgets, structure and staffing capabilities for his football department and can begin the process of filling crucial roles such as recruitment chief, assistant coaches and any other changes appointments.
Annesley would not foreshadow any of the possible changes that could be forthcoming from the club review, but is confident the Titans are moving ahead with some key off-field issues including hopefully the imminent securing of a major sponsor for next season.
“We are in negotiation with companies but with all sponsorship the deal is never done until the ink is dry,” he said.
“I am hopeful we will close some of those reasonably quickly, but I can’t promise that as things can go wrong at the last minute.”
