Kevin Gordon re-signs for three years

[DIEHARD]

609996-kevin-gordon.jpg

Gordon re-signs for three years

The iSelect Titans exciting winger Kevin Gordon has committed himself to the club for a further three seasons on the eve of the 2014 NRL campaign.

Gordon, 24, originally from Sawtell on the NSW North Coast but one of the Titans’ first teenage signings with fellow utility back David Mead, has agreed to a new contract for the 2015-17 seasons which will make him a nine-season Gold Coast player, although he did not make his NRL debut until 2009.

He has another milestone within closer reach as well – he is just six games away from 100 first grade appearances, which would make him just the 10th Titans player to reach the century mark.

“I’m really happy to be staying at the club I started with, and showing loyalty to the Titans who have always been good to me is important to me,” said Gordon.

“I’d like to be a one-club NRL player; in my junior days I only played for one club too - the Sawtell Panthers.

“I’m only a few games away from 100 NRL games for the Titans and that’s a pretty special milestone, especially seeing I have been here from the start and only nine other players have achieved that. Hopefully I can play a lot more games.

“That’s one of the reasons I want to stay; to leave a legacy for other players who will hopefully follow and come through the system from a young age and remain long-term with the club.”

Gordon was recruited as a 16-year-old before the Titans’ first season of 2007 and starred in the under-20s in 2008, scoring 21 tries in 21 appearances. He made his NRL debut the following year (round 3 v Canterbury) and has become one of the fans’ favourites with his athleticism and speed on the wing, or centre or fullback.

Yet he acknowledges there is more depth, and thus pressure for positions in the outside backs with Mead, Brad Tighe, Maurice Blair, Siuatonga Likiliki, Kailifa Faifai Loa, Anthony Don, Jamie Dowling and Steve Michaels all in the mix.

iSelect Titans coach John Cartwright was delighted to have the 24-year-old commit for another three seasons, adding further stability to a squad that has a superb mix of youth and experience.

“Kevin has been with us from the start, we regard him as a Gold Coast local, and his best playing days should be ahead of him,” said Cartwright. “It’s important that we retain players like him who we have brought through the system.

“He has exceptional athleticism as he has often showed and is a real crowd favourite up here and is an important part of our side.”

http://www.titans.com.au/

[karnage]

The club foreshadowed this on Twitter as 'huge news'. This is about as far from 'huge news' as you can get.

[Titanic]

But it's not bad news, at least.

[DIEHARD]

Yea it is good news but not huge news by any stretch.

Pleased to have one of my favourite Titans secured.

[justin19]

Unfortunately all the signings can't be big name players. Those sorts of signings take time but I am sure there will be some big signings from the club in the near future.

[Mexican titan]

Hopefully he will have wing defensive play all sorted by 2017.
From now on (until the first game at least) I will stfu on this issue.
I am glad he stayed though as the good outweighs the bad with him.

[Bayside Titan]

Great retention from the club.

[DIEHARD]

Gordon gunning to be Titans great



It's a substantial upgrade on the original $500 contract he signed as a 16-year-old but Kevin Gordon insists the latest deal keeping him at the Titans until at least the end of the 2017 season is all about love, not money.

A week out from the start of the 2014 Telstra Premiership and with 94 first-grade games with the club already, Gordon was "heaps stoked" to have secured his long-term future on the Gold Coast and said that he didn't ever really consider going anywhere else.

Coach John Cartwright admitted that during negotiations there had been discussions regarding other offers – including the possibility of a switch to rugby union – but Gordon himself said that his first preference was to always remain a Titan.

"It's the club where I started and I like to stay loyal to the club where I started," Gordon said. "The club's treated me well and I'd like to repay the faith and play some good footy for them.

"There probably were [other offers] but I didn't really look at it. I just wanted to deal with Gold Coast and get our contract right.

"I never really looked anywhere else; Gold Coast is the place that I want to stay so it was a pretty easy decision in the end.

"I want to stay and leave my legacy on the game as a good Titans player – one of the great Titans players – and hopefully I can do that with another three years under my belt."

Although the club has recruited heavily in the outside backs in the off-season, Cartwright has never wavered in his admiration for his incumbent wingers, Gordon and David Mead, along with fullback William Zillman.

He said that the negotiation process to secure Gordon's signature had been ongoing over a six-week period and is delighted that he has committed to the club for a further three years.

"You'd like to get it done and dusted in the one meeting but it doesn't happen like that anymore," Cartwright said.

"The thing with loyalty is that it's there to a certain degree but it's certainly not there as it has been many, many years ago. Clubs make decisions, players make decisions, managers make decisions but Kevvie is a little bit different.

"He's been at the club pretty much since 16 years of age and he didn't want to leave and we didn't want to lose him."

With Filipino heritage, Gordon could command big dollars from large rugby union clubs throughout Asia but Cartwright was delighted to see him reject a possible code switch to achieve his goals on the Gold Coast.

"Especially with Kevvie's heritage, that opens up more doors for him but I'm really happy for the reasons that he stayed here," Cartwright said.

"He could have earned more money elsewhere but he wants to be part of a Gold Coast team that wins an NRL premiership. If you can get every guy in your club thinking along those lines it won't be far [off]."

Gordon first came to the attention of the Titans when his brother, Dennis, was signed in the club's inaugural squad in 2007 and although Dennis never played an NRL game, his younger brother made an immediate impact.

A member of the Titans' under-20s team in the first year of the National Youth Competition in 2008, Gordon scored 21 tries and was named in the NYC Team of the Year before making his NRL debut in Round 3, 2009 at just 19 years of age. He scored 13 tries in 23 NRL games that year and with 50 to his name now trails just David Mead (51) as the Titans' leading tryscorer.

Source: http://www.nrl.com

[ozynorts]

"Cartwright has never wavered in his admiration for his incumbent wingers, Gordon and David Mead, along with fullback William Zillman."

And don't we know about that....