SOS: Titans Sinking...

[TITAN PETE]

TRAVIS MEYN GOLD COAST BULLETIN JULY 28, 2014 12:39PM 5



THE Gold Coast Titans have hit rock bottom — on and off the field.

Revelations the club is being investigated for possible salary cap breaches is the last thing they need.

The football team is shot. Their loss to Parramatta on Saturday night was unacceptable. It was their seventh straight defeat at Cbus Super Stadium and came against a team that had the worst away record in the competition.

Coach John Cartwright praised his team’s effort after the game.

“There was a lot of effort there. The difference in the game was Jarryd Hayne,” he told reporters.

But that’s the problem. Hayne was good but only because the Titans allowed him to be.

Their defensive line was staggered. They gifted the Eels too much possession.

It’s been one bad performance after another for the past 12 weeks.

It’s got to a point where the Gold Coast has given up supporting the Titans.

There were more Eels fans at the stadium on Saturday night. It’s a recurring theme.

Then came yesterday’s bombshell. A possible salary cap breach and concerns over the governance of the club’s not-for-profit organisation, Titans 4 Tomorrow.

The Titans had just announced they would be completing a full review into the club’s operations but they tried to keep the salary cap probe quiet.

Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, it’s another black eye for a club fighting for respect.

The Titans have been on a slippery slope since construction began on the Centre of Excellence building at Robina in 2009.

It was a concept that should have never become more than just a dream.

The ambitious Michael Searle bit off more than he could chew and the Titans have never recovered.

Searle offloaded the building to save the football club but creditors lost out in the process and they’ve never forgiven the Titans. Cartwright was given a five-year contract just months before collecting the wooden spoon.

The Titans haven’t made the finals since 2010 and the fans have lost faith.

The newly appointed board walked into a storm, although at least two of them would have seen it coming.

The review will be completed next month but what happens after will decide the club’s fate. Is it too late or can someone save the Titans?

[teke]

Titans havn't hit rock bottom yet.

If it's too late to save the titans Meyn is partially responsible for his "head in the sand" reporting over the last few yrs

[karnage]

What do you expect from a guy who has 'Carlton Blues Tragic' in the bio of his Twitter account, he cares as much about Rugby League as I do for the commonwealth games.

[TITAN PETE]

What do you expect from a guy who has 'Carlton Blues Tragic' in the bio of his Twitter account, he cares as much about Rugby League as I do for the commonwealth games.

Are u reffering to the Sports Carnival being played over seas somewhere

[Mexican titan]

Titans havn't hit rock bottom yet.

If it's too late to save the titans Meyn is partially responsible for his "head in the sand" reporting over the last few yrs

I agree but was pleasantly surprised to see Meyn write this article today. The editorial in the paper had a similar theme, so at least the clock is well and truly ticking.

[DIEHARD]

Titans havn't hit rock bottom yet.

If it's too late to save the titans Meyn is partially responsible for his "head in the sand" reporting over the last few yrs

This. This.

Welcome to the party pal.

[Titanic]

We should not be worried about bandwagoners, at this stage we should be encouraging them.

[DIEHARD]

Gold Coast Titans’ future on shaky ground

THE Gold Coast Titans are about to enter one of the most important phases of their short-lived existence.

As the club continues to deal with the fallout from an ongoing salary cap investigation, and an *independent consultant prepares to review the football club’s operations, The Australian can reveal *officials at the very highest level of the organisation have spoken about whether the team should stay on the Gold Coast.

Despite public sentiments of support, Titans officials are also privately questioning whether the NRL has a genuine interest in *ensuring the club succeeds.

Since the Titans’ inception in 2007, the Gold Coast has consistently asked the NRL for financial aid to combat the growing influence of the AFL in the region.

Yet while the AFL underwrites the Gold Coast Suns to the tune of $20 million a year, and spends many millions on development in the region, the Titans are virtually left to fend for themselves.

Last year alone, on top of their base grant of $7m, the Suns were given an additional $2.6m. The *Titans, on the other hand, were given a miserly $250,000 to invest in three development officers.

Little wonder frustration continues to grow among the club’s upper echelons about the mismatch taking place on the coast.

That mismatch has prompted some to suggest the answer may be to leave the region, although it its understood those comments were borne more of frustration at the lack of support — both from the NRL and the fans — rather than any desire to forsake the area.

Nevertheless, some suspect it mighty be best for all if the licence was sold to the likes of Perth or a second Brisbane team. The Titans are bleeding money and fans.

The game’s governing body talks about backing the Gold Coast, but in reality it is little more than lip service compared to the support the Suns get from the AFL.

Drive the stretch from Coolangatta in the south to Southport in the north and every bus shelter has an ad for the Suns, and by *extension the AFL.

The Titans, in contrast, do their best with what little they have. The club has almost gone under once. The NRL came to its aid on that occasion and for that it deserves to be commended.

Yet the support has dried up despite the money flooding in to rugby league. The NRL has a war chest stashed away for future investment.

Meanwhile, the Titans continue to wither on the vine. As a result, the code continues to give up ground on the Gold Coast, both to the AFL and soccer.

The club is yet to secure a major sponsor for next season, leaving a million-dollar hole in the budget which is yet to be filled.

It is understood talks are ongoing with several companies but nothing has been agreed. At the same time, the Titans have called in an independent consultant — doctor Dave Arthur — to undertake a review of the club’s football operations.

Arthur was previously been used by Gold Coast chief executive Graham Annesley when the latter was second-in-charge at the NRL.

His charter is to study the Titans operations and come up with some explanation for the club’s poor performance in recent seasons.

It won’t help the club’s bottom line, but it may help explain why the Titans have failed to generate rusted-on supporters in the *region.

As for the NRL, it needs to start walking the walk.

It needs to show it is committed to the Titans and the region. It needs to dig into its cash reserves and send some the Gold Coast’s way.

It needs to complete its salary cap review, come down with sanctions if necessary, and then wrap its arms around the Titans.

It needs to shore up the corridor south of Brisbane. Otherwise, it may be lost forever.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

[teke]

Just Fold em up NRL, get rid of the dude in charge and pump ya money in the Western Reds again

[titanslurker]

i feared this day would come. searle would run us into the ground so hard that relocation is now on the agenda. probably a good time now to let ya'll know ive heard the club is still in as much as $13 million debt. sad days.

[titanslurker]

If we fold, let W.A and CQ into the comp. WA is a must for the expansion of the game and CQ is a massive diehard rugby league fan area waiting for a team. Brisbane doesn't need a second team IMO. Not ahead of those two anyway. Expand to areas where there is no team first.

is it possible a CQ team would play 2-3 home games at robina as a part of a relocation package? i dont see a brisbane titans team working.

[karnage]

This is ridiculous talk.

There is absolutely NO WAY that the NRL can afford to lose such a strategic location. F$%& the Western Reds. F$%& the Brisbane Bombers.

[Mexican titan]

This is ridiculous talk.

There is absolutely NO WAY that the NRL can afford to lose such a strategic location. F$%& the Western Reds. F$%& the Brisbane Bombers.

Thanks Karnage, I agree totally and am surprised by some of the posts above where the white flag was raised.
It wasn't that long ago that we had great crowds and the Coast was well engaged with the team but one man and one dud coach have almost conspired by themselves to screw it all up. If by some chance the license given up and we got token games on the Coast I would not be attending them.
All it needs is this review and others at the NRL to have some guts and make the changes that we all know need to be made.

[Titan4Life]

I am not giving up in the Titans and I never will as my username says. I want to see them stay and succeed in this comp. Howver I am worried that this internal review will not change anything. Searle will most likely stay and Cartwright will just be slightly shifted. To make matters worse we have no major sponsor for 2015 and a salary cap issue. Don't get me wrong I'm not wishing bad on the Titans but there are a few dramas at the moment that are putting this club's survival at risk.

[Bayside Titan]

Agree with your Comments MT and Karnage. David Smith and Darryl Kelly need to make the decisions now. The review is just going to confirm what we already know. The guy doing the review is held in high regard all over the world and the best in Australia so I have confidence that the review will be done with true independence.