Set of Six Questions: Titans

[Titan4Life]

WARNING THIS MAY BE ONE OF THE DUMBEST ARTICLES THAT YOU WILL EVER READ


Set Of Six: The Questions That Matter for the Titans
By Brendan Bradford
Updated 5 hours ago

The NRL pre-season is in full swing and every club will tell you they've never been fitter/stronger/faster. Forget that crap – we want the big questions answered. The Gold Coast Titans feature in today's Set of 6 series.

1. Will anyone actually turn up to watch them play?
Attendance at Titans games has been on a downward spiral since 2009, with figures this year dropping to an average of around 13,400. Even the Gold Coast Suns get more people to home games, with the average attendance for 2014 hovering around 16,000.
The Suns momentarily threatened to make the finals in 2014, but have endured a similar run of poor results as the Titans. So what gives?

2. How will King Henry go in his first full year in charge?
Neil Henry is an astute coach and a stickler for detail. He was an important figure in Mal Meninga’s Queensland Origin set-up and was very unlucky not to enjoy greater success at the Cowboys.
Well regarded throughout the game, the Titans desperately needed a change after years of failure under John Cartwright and will benefit from a thorough pre-season under Henry.

3. Is Josh Hoffman a good signing?
He’s a good player, but surely the Titans don’t need another outside back? They’ve always had pace to burn out wide in David Mead, Will Zillman, Kevin Gordon and Kalifa Faifai Loa. It’s up front where they need to invest but Hoffman can play.

4. Are they the NRL's biggest disappointment?
Hard to deny. In eight seasons they’ve only made the top eight twice and have lost three of their four finals matches. At least they’ve still got 30-odd years before their premiership drought gets as bad as the Sharks.

5. So, do they have the cattle to turn that form around in 2015?
No. The Titans’ roster is a who’s who of ‘who the hell are you?’ with only a handful of big names surrounded by a few up-and-comers and a smattering of cast-offs from other clubs.
Greg Bird and Nate Myles are legitimate superstars and will be backed up by the likes of Beau Falloon and Daniel Mortimer, but the departures of Ashley Harrison, Luke Bailey and Mark Minichiello will make 2015 an uphill battle.

6. Will Dave Taylor be the player he once was?
Dave Taylor’s career has stalled since moving back north of the Tweed from the Bunnies. He shows glimpses of his rare talent every couple of weeks, but has struggled for consistent impact despite being an Origin quality player. With rumours circulating around Robina the Titans want to offload him, next season is make or break for Taylor. Sadly though, the day-to-day grind of a long NRL season seem to be too much for the Coal Train to hack.

Major Gains –
Josh Hoffman (Broncos), Lachlan Burr (Bulldgos), David Hala (Broncos).

Major Losses –
Brad Takairangi (Eels), Albert Kelly (Hull), Maurice Blair (Hull), Luke Bailey (retired), Ashley Harrison (retired), Mark Minichiello (Hull), Matt Srama (Roosters).

Lurker Alert: This mob worries me. Really worries me. Hoffman is a good pick up but that's about it. They've also lost some reasonable quality and experience. And I'm not convinced the likes of Dave Taylor can remain focussed for a week, let alone 30 of them. They've got spoon candidate written all over them.

[Mexican titan]

Thanks for the warning T4L. It was one of the dumbest articles I have read and surely this bloke didn't get paid to write it.

[Titan4Life]

I just can't see us being spoon contenders if we keep a mostly injury free team. With a team full of international/origin reps such as Bird, Taylor, Myles and Hoffman and a speedy (possibly full of points) backline, I see finishing 13th at the lowest.

[Titanic]

Perhaps a candid look at the other clubs is how to gauge our 2015 season … who is looking worse than us?

Dragons? Raiders? Tigers? Knights? Sharks?

[Smakked]

What the actual fcuk did i just read?

You warned me but i still read it....

[mup23]

At least he didn't say that Gordon was going to be our fullback

[Mr Stupid]

Whenever I read a journalistic article about a subject I have even a little knowledge of there are invariably mistakes, omissions, falsehoods and downright nonsense. Like that article that said Kevin Gordan would be our fullback in 2015! This one is not much better. Comments like "the departures of Ashley Harrison, Luke Bailey and Mark Minichiello will make 2015 an uphill battle" just lack any real insight. It makes you realise that everything you read about any other club is probably bulldust also.

[DavidBouveng]

people getting on dave taylors back for inconsistency show me they only show a passing interest in our team.

anyone who watched our games, saw he was probably the most consistent guy doing the hack work each week. a most never gave up or turned in a soft game. I think there are better ways that a better coach could use him than sending him up alone with no decoys into 4 opposing players to get mauled each time, but thats not his fault. hes just doing what he is told and does it almost every week.

its the flip side of some guys getting an easy ride in the media based on past performances, DT has a stigma of being inconsistent and its easy for journos to write.

infuriates me. be better at your jobs you clowns

[Titan4Life]

people getting on dave taylors back for inconsistency show me they only show a passing interest in our team.

anyone who watched our games, saw he was probably the most consistent guy doing the hack work each week. a most never gave up or turned in a soft game. I think there are better ways that a better coach could use him than sending him up alone with no decoys into 4 opposing players to get mauled each time, but thats not his fault. hes just doing what he is told and does it almost every week.

its the flip side of some guys getting an easy ride in the media based on past performances, DT has a stigma of being inconsistent and its easy for journos to write.

infuriates me. be better at your jobs you clowns

Well said mate. Taylor was our best all year IMO and deserved the Broughton medal over Falloon.

[5 Year Contract]

Yeah DT was EASILY our best player last year and had one of his best seasons in a long time. I get so sick of the criticism he cops in the media when he has a cracker of a game barely anything is written about him but the odd ordinary game that most players have he will be sure to cop a "MAKE OR BREAK" "FAILED POTENTIAL" article. I agree with the previous comments it seems like since he has been at the titans none of his critics are actually watching him play week in week out all the while they write glowing reviews of Bird and Myles who IMO have been very ordinary at club level the last few years. What a pathetic excuse for an article from someone who obviously knows jack about our club.