Where to from here: The halves conundrum

[TITAN PETE]

A replacement half is not even our most pressing concern, who do you think is going to be captain next year.....

Ryan James

The plus side is all the good players off contract will know we have plenty of cash to spend

[Hail Sezer]

lol don't apologies to HS, hes only scary cause hes a mod hahaha

Haha please, you're my squire. So are you C2G with your cheeky little peasant thumbs up

[Show and Go]

A replacement half is not even our most pressing concern, who do you think is going to be captain next year.....

Zillman is the obvious choice.

Seriously I think Luke Douglas is the man for the job.

[Titan4Life]

Daly Cherry-Evans backflip: Trent Hodkinson, James Maloney best halves options market
Dan Walsh FOX SPORTS
June 03, 2015 3:01PM

NEIL Henry and the Titans have copped one hell of a blindsiding by Daly Cherry-Evans backflip with a twist (because a straight backflip ends up with DCE still facing the same way).

With the whole ‘will he, won’t he’ saga dragging on for four months after Cherry-Evans initially committed to the Titans, a number of attractive playmaking/marquee options on the open market have since disappeared.

But King Henry knows his court needs an experienced playmaker, and said as much during the Titans presser on Wednesday following DCE’s announcement.

“There are a number of halfbacks who haven’t signed contracts … high profile ones,” Henry said.

“We probably need some experience in the halves, goalkicking would be an advantage.”

“We have made recruitment and retention decisions based on the personnel we thought we’d have in place next year. That’s now changed. We’ll reassess, we’ll regroup.”

A few minutes earlier Gold Coast CEO Graham Annesley declared the Titans won’t try and tempt departing five-eighth Aidan Sezer to go back on his deal to join Canberra next year.

“We’re not about to try to get anyone to renege on a deal that they’ve entered into — that would be double standards on our behalf,” Annesley said.

So while there is no player that measures up to either DCE’s calibre as a player or marquee potential, it’s off to market the Titans go in search of an experienced hand to partner promising tyro Kane Elgey.


TRENT HODKINSON



Hodkinson fits Henry’s bill to a tee. At 26, the NSW halfback is the same age as Cherry-Evans, though does have a worrying injury history that has been linked to a significant downturn in form this year.

The Dogs half has been negotiating a stay at Belmore for some time, and is understood to be close to agreeing to terms with the club. But with his old team Manly now out of the running for obvious reasons, the Titans could enter the race for his signature late.

While Hodkinson doesn’t offer the brilliance of Cherry-Evans and isn’t exactly the type of halfback you build a side around above all else, his standing as one of the game’s genuine good guys, pinpoint goalkicking and a steady playmaking hand are his obvious advantages.



JAMES MALONEY



Another whose future will become clearer now the DCE drama has been put to bed, Maloney’s intentions are also to stay with his current club the Roosters. But if the Gold Coast are after a player who rivals Cherry-Evans all-round ability, Maloney is as close as they’ll get in the current market.

Maloney has proven himself one of the game’s better halves since arriving at Bondi in 2013, playing a major role in the Chooks premiership success that year and the fact they’ve stayed at the pointy end of the NRL ladder since.

Maloney’s only obvious weakness is his defence, which has seen him miss the most tackles (42) in the game this year. But otherwise his experience, playmaking ability and goal kicking make him an attractive option.



CHRIS SANDOW



The wildcard in the bunch, and also one of the more likely replacements.

One of the most thrilling players in the game on his day, Sandow has been on the outer at Parramatta this year after knocking back a two-year extension in February, and now is all but out the door for 2016.

At the right club and in the right footballing structure, Sandow’s livewire, madcap approach to the game still has plenty to offer.

Whether the Titans are the right club, and whether Sandow has enough experience to guide a player like Elgey is another question. Another element is while Sandow has been on a $550K deal at Parramatta since 2012, his market value has dropped well below that now, and his services will cost far less than those of Cherry-Evans, Hodkinson or Maloney, allowing the Titans to recruit in other areas as well.



THE REST

Of the rest of the off contract playmakers, there is promise and potential aplenty.

Expect Todd Carney’s name to be thrown into the mix, but it’ll take a lot of smooth talking to get any contract for the injured Catalans five-eighth approved by the NRL.

Robert Lui remains off contract at the Cowboys and shapes as an option with reasonable first grade experience, though has spent much of his career battling form, weight and off-field issues.

Canberra’s Mitchell Cornish has already accepted he won’t be at the Raiders in 2016 due to a surplus of halves in the nation’s capital, and has been touted as Titans-bound already.

Partnering Cornish and Elgey would give the Gold Coast two of the game’s brightest young playmakers, but as seen at the Tigers with Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks, the short term pay-off is having two young halves steering the ship has it’s teething problems.

Luke Kelly (Parramatta), Isaac John (Penrith) and Tim Moltzen (Tigers) are other options, though all have struggled to crack first grade in 2015 and would be a far cry from the quality Cherry-Evans would’ve offered the Titans.

[Boonarga]

Daly Cherry-Evans backflip: Trent Hodkinson, James Maloney best halves options market
Dan Walsh FOX SPORTS
June 03, 2015 3:01PM

Expect Todd Carney’s name to be thrown into the mix, but it’ll take a lot of smooth talking to get any contract for the injured Catalans five-eighth approved by the NRL.

Robert Lui remains off contract at the Cowboys and shapes as an option with reasonable first grade experience, though has spent much of his career battling form, weight and off-field issues.

If Packer and Wicks can get contracts...

Robert Lui? One of the worst halves ever to play first grade.

[GCTTSD]

I would like to see corey norman, hodkinson or cornish partnered with elgey

[Smakked]

Who ever we get I hope we dont pay over for them

[Nols of the Goldy]

The mention of Kelly on here, do you mean Albert Kelly. If so he has just signed another one year extension with Hull as has Maurice Blair.

[Geeman]

I don't think Hodkinson would be too bad, the injury side of it is a bit of a worry, but a stable, no-frills half with a good kicking game to partner Elgey and let him do his thing...

[Davis13]

Please not sandow

[gotitans101_]

I'd rather Maloney than all of them. He's done it all before.

[ozynorts]

Ok am I missing something here. Why are we being linked with half backs??????????? We have Elgey and need a 5/8. most of the names put up are half backs. The two 6's that stand out are Maloney and Norman.

[JunctionBlock]

Ok am I missing something here. Why are we being linked with half backs??????????? We have Elgey and need a 5/8. most of the names put up are half backs. The two 6's that stand out are Maloney and Norman.

Chad Townsend. Having a career year.

[Hail Sezer]

Titans turn to Eels star Chris Sandow and Bulldogs’ Trent Hodkinson

EXCLUSIVE Chris Garry and Peter Badel
The Courier-Mail June 03, 2015 7:00PM



THE Gold Coast Titans will chase Parramatta star Chris Sandow as their ideal replacement for Daly Cherry-Evans with Bulldogs half Trent Hodkinson also an option.

The Courier-Mail can reveal Gold Coast coach Neil Henry wants former Titan prodigy Sandow or Origin-winner Hodkinson to partner Kane Elgey in the halves.

The Titans were always uncomfortable with the $1.3 million a season they were paying for Cherry-Evans.

There were fears a raft of injuries next season would put them over the cap if they had to bring in replacements.

Following the Cherry-Evans backflip they have switched gears.

The Titans want to have a more rounded squad rather than piling their cash into a marquee.

The Titans now want a half under $500,000 a year, with Sandow and Hodkinson fitting that bill.

Hodkinson has been in poor form this year but did lead NSW to an Origin win and Canterbury to a grand final last season.

Sandow has been erratic as always for Parramatta but is a match winner and could be the spark outside the organising Elgey.

The Titans sacked Sandow in 2008 after he missed a series of training sessions.

Roosters five-eighth James Maloney could be an option but is asking too much at the moment and is in poor form also.

Henry wants a goal-kicking half to replace Canberra-bound Aidan Sezer. The Titans will not try to get Sezer to backflip from his Raiders deal, they believe they priced him right at about $400,000.

Cherry-Evans’ late call revealing he was staying at Manly means there is precious little left on the market for the Gold Coast.

There are only four halves playing regular NRL that are still available, being Sandow, Hodkinson, Maloney and Ray Thompson who is a bench hooker for the Cowboys.

Robert Lui and Isaac John would be cheaper, short-term fixes while St Helens half Luke Walsh has been offered to NRL clubs.

Titans coach Neil Henry said Cherry-Evans decision to backflip three months after he signed had hurt their recruitment plans significantly.

“The impact has been significant because with such a marquee player it really did limit us with our recruitment and our recruitment strategy and factoring that into the salary cap,” Henry said.

“It was a considerable amount of work that had to happen for Daly to come on board to start off with.

“There are a number of halfbacks that haven’t signed contracts and high-profile ones so we’re just have to see.

“It certainly does free up a bit of money in the cap and we will have to look at that for the future of the club.

“No firm offers because it was really pointless to put an expression of interest in a player given that we don’t know if it was going to happen.

“It was purely hypothetical. We just have to have a look in the market now.

“We probably need some experience in the halves. Goal kicking would be an advantage.”

http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-...-1227381808458

[Toads]

If that's Plan B, fark that then..