Garth Brennan named Titans Head Coach

[rj62]

I think we were valid with our concerns, looks like Brennan may have delivered.
Now I’m just facing northwards and sticking a virtual finger up at Grandpa Slime.

There’ll be some melts today amongst the Drongoe fraternity.
Sucked in.

Brennan was dumped with it. It was in play well before he arrived so he was on a hiding to nothing if Ash didn’t sign.

But he did as Garth had indicated his confidence in.

Good stuff

- - - Updated - - -

Even better is the fact Ash signed the waiver over the cooling off period. So the broncos can’t make a late play.

Wow - that’s awesome

[Titanic]

Huge, hairy, fabulous cods!

[5 Year Contract]

Fantastic news! We have our coach, our key playmaker and the makings of a plan. Just need ownership sorted and we desperately need some additions to our forward pack and backs. After the ****show that was the end of our year its good to start getting some positivity again

[Titanic]

Mitch Rein is a proven NRL player who was going to go somewhere so why not us? Lawton hasn’t shown much and we need depth there. Puts some pressure on Peats too ... all good for mine.

[DavidBouveng]

Yeah Rein is a quality signing.

I like him for his value in covering for Peats during his common injuries, and also if he is selected for origin again.

Do we play him the rest of the season when Peats is in the side? i'm open to it. Would rather him than Lawton personally.

there are some similarities to Paul Green getting the cowboys gig and taking his Q Cup hooker Glanville with him.

[TITAN PETE]

Rein is an excellent signing considering he was being chased by us before last season began so we will be paying him a lot less now after his fall from grace with the Dragons & Panthers

He's a quality player & will push Peats to be on his toes, handy to have around Origin time too

[DIEHARD]

Titans to launch daring raid on Penrith and Parramatta staff
https://wwos.nine.com.au/2017/11/10/...nrith-panthers

New Titans coach Garth Brennan is set to launch a daring raid on both Penrith and Parramatta as he builds his staff for next season.
Moley has heard that Brennan has targeted Eels NYC coach and former wing star Luke Burt as his assistant coach.
And Brennan is also chasing Penrith high-performance manager Matt Cameron and the club’s refereeing advisor, former Roosters fullback Luke Phillips.

Cameron is one of the most respected co-ordinators in the game, having worked at both the Eels and Tigers before joining the Panthers.

Significantly, both Cameron and Burt are close to controversial fullback Jarryd Hayne, who is currently weighing up whether to remain at the Titans or move back to his home town of Sydney.

Phillips was signed by Panthers boss Phil Gould and, as a former referee, has been giving the players and coaching staff valuable insights into the workings of the referees over the past two seasons.

[DIEHARD]

Poor job security won’t stop Brennan making the tough decisions
http://www.couriermail.com.au

GARTH Brennan knows the statistics aren’t pretty.

History says he won’t be coach of the Gold Coast Titans in 10 years’ time. Maybe not even in five.

Of the 16 current coaches in the NRL, only Melbourne’s Craig Bellamy and Sydney’s Trent Robinson have been at the helm of their clubs for the past five seasons.

It is a cutthroat industry. Coaches usually cop a bullet before anyone else responsible for the dwindling fortunes of their team.

But that isn’t going to change Brennan’s philosophy about transforming the Titans from the NRL’s problem child into premiership contenders.

“The decisions I make about the Gold Coast Titans will be what I think is best for the club in five, seven and 10 years’ time,” he told The Sunday Mail.

“The stats say I won’t be there then but that’s not going to change what I believe in and think will work.

“I’m not going to coach worrying about my tenure and what’s said about me and our team.

“If it’s not good enough, then it’s not good enough.

“I just want to have no regrets. I’ll give it the best crack I can. If it doesn’t work out that way then I’ll move on to a new challenge.

“I’m fortunate enough to have a fantastic family supporting me and healthy kids. There are a lot of people more worse off than me.

“That’s the way I look at it. I’m doing a job that people can only dream of doing.”

Brennan, 46, will step into the coaches box at Cbus Super Stadium for the first time tonight when the Titans tackle the Canberra Raiders.

He has been around rugby league his entire life but never experienced the pressure-cooker environment of being an NRL head coach.

Born and bred in Newcastle, Brennan came through the lower grades at the Knights, playing alongside club legend Matty Johns as a teenager.

That relationship would later help Brennan secure the Titans post following a glowing endorsement from Johns to influential Gold Coast powerbrokers as they searched for Neil Henry’s successor.

The Johns reference was a critical factor in Brennan’s appointment, partly because the former policeman is one of the few coaches in the NRL with no first-grade playing history.

But the father-of-three believes he makes up for his modest playing career with an astute knowledge of the game and proven record of under-20s and reserve grade success.

“Without blowing smoke up my own backside, it’s probably about having the results in the lower grades and your knowledge of football,” he said.

“Some of the best players in the game didn’t make great coaches, whereas some of the great coaches in the game haven’t been standout players.

“It’s about educating yourself and your knowledge of the game.

“If you’re not a genuine person or know your stuff, the players will call you out on it pretty quickly. I’m honest and sometimes that goes against me, I suppose. I tell the players how it is. Sometimes they don’t like hearing it because it’s not all good.

“Close enough is not good enough. I’m a bit of a perfectionist in everything I do.”

Brennan’s appointment at the Titans was a life-changing decision for not only him.

Wife Rachael closed her law firm in Newcastle to move to the Gold Coast with children Macy, 16, Guy, 12, and seven-year-old Halle.

Since leaving the police force in 2009 following 18 years of service, Brennan has worked his way through the lower grades at Newcastle and Penrith dreaming of this day.

It has finally arrived and he is confident his lowly rated Titans will turn a few heads in 2018.

“Do I have my doubts? Of course I do. You’d be crazy if you didn’t,” he said.

“I’d never say I’m oozing confidence but I’ve seen the way the boys have trained.

“I’m not going to say we’re going to make the eight, top four or win the grand final.

“What I am confident in is the effort will be there each week.”

[DIEHARD]

Matthew Johns: Why I told Titans to sign Brennan
http://www.nrl.com

Matthew Johns has revealed why he recommended Garth Brennan to the Gold Coast Titans as coach and outlined why he will be a success at the club long term.

The Titans are under the pump after a woeful display in the 54-8 loss to a red-hot St George Illawarra but Johns said he did not expect them to play that poorly again this year.

Brennan edged out Terry Matterson, Jason Demetriou and Ben and Shane Walker last year in the wake of Neil Henry's demise and Johns confirmed his opinion was sought by the club before signing their new coach.

Nine of the 19 players used by the Titans so far this year are 25 or younger and Johns said that was why Brennan was a man for the times.

"The Titans asked my opinion on good coaches coming through and I said that if you look at young coaches, no-one has a better record than Garth Brennan," Johns told NRL.com.

"I recommended him straight away. If you look at what he has done in the lower grades at the Panthers, producing and getting the best out of young players, Garth's record is the best."

Johns had seen first hand what Brennan did with the Newcastle under 20s side and suggested to Phil Gould that he sign him when he was after a rising coaching star for the Panthers.

"About 18 months later I got a text from Gus, which are rare, and he said it was one of the best tips he's ever been given," Johns said.

"Garth went to Penrith as part of Gus's regime and he had enormous success with youngsters, and that is the position the Titans find themselves in with a young roster.

"The Titans are a project. They've got to continue to educate these younger players and that's what Garth is good at."

Johns said that while there were areas of concern for the Titans after three rounds, it was not the time to panic.

"It is only three rounds in, but one thing they have got to work on is to arrest their slow starts with are getting them into trouble," he said.

"Garth has only just got his hands on the Titans and I've got no doubt that shortly we are going to see a pretty dramatic improvement. He'll be a success there."

The 1997 Newcastle premiership winner told NRL.com he had "no doubt" the Titans were right to make 23-year-old half Ash Taylor their marquee player on a massive long-term deal.

"I honestly believe Ash Taylor - whether it be in three years, two years or one year - will be the best player in the game one day," Johns enthused.

"There were times last year where he was playing in a team that was really struggling but there was no-one in the game creating more than Ash Taylor.

"This year he's played round one and had four try assists. He had a try assist the other day [against the Dragons] and missed round two with a hamstring injury.

"Even on the weekend when they got absolutely dusted, with a few of his touches you could see that there is magic in his football."

There isn’t much magic in former Panthers star Bryce Cartwright's football right now with the lock forward benched by Brennan for the clash with the Brisbane Broncos after a disappointing display against the Dragons where he missed eight tackles and had little impact with the ball.

Johns was adamant that Cartwight would not be out of form for long.

"Bryce hasn’t played a lot of football in the last 12 months and just has to get some games under his belt," he said.

"A few years ago he was close to Origin selection but through circumstances, he's had a difficult time off the field and injuries that have eroded his confidence away.

"Confidence comes and goes but class doesn't, and he's got it."

[Bayside Titan]

I think that there are two important positions that we need / should fill and they are a halves coach that can come and train the halves at least once a fortnight and a Coaching Director similar to Gould at the minute. Also both positions part time. Could see if Lam can come talk to the halves and Meninga to the Coach. These I believe are the two rolls that we should have until Brennan, ATAY and LG are confident.

[RavShamrock]

I think that there are two important positions that we need / should fill and they are a halves coach that can come and train the halves at least once a fortnight and a Coaching Director similar to Gould at the minute. Also both positions part time. Could see if Lam can come talk to the halves and Meninga to the Coach. These I believe are the two rolls that we should have until Brennan, ATAY and LG are confident.

Nah. I recon if Brennan can't get the job done then get rid of him.
You would get bigger bang for the buck with Bellamy than all that lot.

[Titanic]

I’m with you Ravs ... coaches need their space not bandaid fixes.

[Bayside Titan]

One of the reasons I raised the halves coach idea was watching QLd Only on Fox and Taylor was on the show. Meninga asked Taylor who LG and himself get specialist halves coaching and Taylor said that Johns came up but there seems like there is nothing in the plan for a regular coaching session. Clearly gets Brandy quite often and Broncos use Walters abit as well. I just believe that we need that as well.

[JunctionBlock]

One of the reasons I raised the halves coach idea was watching QLd Only on Fox and Taylor was on the show. Meninga asked Taylor who LG and himself get specialist halves coaching and Taylor said that Johns came up but there seems like there is nothing in the plan for a regular coaching session. Clearly gets Brandy quite often and Broncos use Walters abit as well. I just believe that we need that as well.

I'm with you. All the clubs do it and we obviously need it.

[Nols of the Goldy]

What about Prince. He has told me personally he would do anything to help our halves out and would love to be involved again with the Titans. Just a thought.