2018 Squad, Signings and Rumours Thread

[Titanic]

I hope Koni is working on his defence, he was exposed again in the WC. Don't mind Lee.

[Mr Bods]

Brenko Lee is 22 and on a one year deal-this has a lot of upside for us. I’m warming to it now.

[JunctionBlock]

I hope Koni is working on his defence, he was exposed again in the WC. Don't mind Lee.

He's still on holidays.

- - - Updated - - -

Brenko Lee absolutely killed it early last season and it was on looking like the leagues leading try scorer. I think he was dropped due to defensive deficiencies but he's a signing that I'm happy with. Bit of speed never hurts.

[Bayside Titan]

Backline Of
7. ATAY
6. LG
5. Copley
4 . Konnie
3. Lee.
2 . Is Don
1. Gordon

Sounds like a solid backline.

[Titanic]

He's still on holidays

Yes, that's his natural position in defence.

[ozynorts]

Oh great, another right center that is a defensive liability.

[5 Year Contract]

Like that signing. Until we lost a stack of our young guns we had a team full of potential and upside. At 22 I can see that with Brenko and he looks to be an offensive weapon which we lacked at times in our backline. Hopefully Brennan can get him and Koni and especially LG up to speed on defence. Would still like to see another strike centre and forward added to the team especially if Greenwood is going.

[Mexican titan]

Backline Of
7. ATAY
6. LG
5. Copley
4 . Konnie
3. Lee.
2 . Is Don
1. Gordon

Sounds like a solid backline.

That group worries me BT. Of them one, LG cannot tackle, and two of them Konnie and Lee can tackle but frequently don't.

[Ausphin]

So based on where we currently stand, looks like (pending Greenwood leaving as rumoured) our squad of 30 is pretty much complete. My guess on our starting team and depth-

Michael Gordon
Brendan Elliot
Dale Copley
Koni Hurrell
Anthony Don
Kane Elgey
Ash Taylor
Jai Arrow
Ryan James
Kevin Proctor
Jarrad Wallace
Nathan Peats
Leilani Latu

Mitch Rein
Morgan Boyle
Keenan Hipgrave
Jack Stockwell


Brenko Lee
Phillip Sami
Tyrone Roberts-Davis
Kiah Cooper
John Olive
AJ Brimson
Karl Lawton
Max King
Tony Matautai
Will Matthews
Jai Whitbread
Joe Greenwood
Ryan Simpkins

[TitansState]

Can Brenko play on the left? Not bothered about the signing as it is only for 1 year.

[Titanic]

He's looking for a home I'd reckon and although he's mentioned on here as playing right side, I recollect him playing left and scoring some pretty handy tries.

[Mr Bods]

^^^ I reckon this left/right sided wing/centre/2nd row thing is overrated. If you are a footballer who’s worth their salt they can transition and adapt.

[TitansState]

To me its more about the defense. Like players usually like tackling with their right or left shoulder more

[Nols of the Goldy]

5 reasons to be excited about the Titans in NRL season 2018


THE Titans endured a true year from hell in 2017. Everything that could go wrong did, everything that couldn’t go wrong got injured.

The finals appearance in 2016 seemed so far away as they lurched into a disaster of a season. They’ll have a different look to them in 2018 with Jarryd Hayne and Neil Henry out the door and here’s five reasons their fans can be excited about next season.

No Hayne

Confession time – I was one of the people who thought Jarryd Hayne would be a great signing for the Titans. He didn’t have to be great, I told myself, he just had to be OK. Hayne was blessed with the best spine of his career, everything was lined up for him to have an exciting and rewarding stint with the Titans, where he gave the club the kind of national relevance that has eluded them throughout their decade long history.



None of that happened. Hayne’s first game with the club was thrilling and a big crowd showed up at Cbus Super Stadium. He kicked a dramatic field goal in the final seconds of a match against the Tigers a few weeks later. That was as good as it got, and from then he proved to be an albatross around the Gold Coast’s neck as they lurched into a season of total disaster after making the finals 12 months before. Now he’s gone, and that enough is good news.

New owners

There’s an old saying out there about winning starting in the front office. Gold Coast have been embroiled in a variety of administrative debacles throughout their history but with the recent purchase of the club by a consortium led by Darryl Kelly and Rebecca Frizelle the club is out of administration and once again controls their own destiny. Will the new owners be the right choice? Maybe, maybe not. But at least the club has some direction and a plan for the future.

Taylor locked down

The word round the campfire was that Ashley Taylor was signed, sealed and delivered for the Broncos. After a strong sophomore campaign backing up his rookie of the year season in 2016, Taylor has fully emerged as one of the best up and coming halfbacks in the competition, if not one of the best halfbacks full stop. To lose him, and to a hated rival no less, would have been a hammer blow to a club that has worn too many in recent years.



New owners, new coach... A new start for the Titans?
But Taylor stayed. The Titans had to pay through the nose to keep him, but he stayed, and now the future seems so much brighter. Taylor’s combination with Kane Elgey did not take off as anticipated last season, but the talent is still there. He is truly the kind of player the club can build around and retaining him was a stone cold coup for a club that badly needed a win.

New coach

The Titans certainly took their time in appointing Garth Brennan, running through a lengthy interview process before appointing the former Panthers lower grade coach. With a proven track record in NSW Cup and Under 20s, Brennan has the pedigree to succeed and has won premierships in both competitions.



Gold Coast Titan's coach Garth Brennan will aim to bring change to the club.
Time will tell if Brennan is the right man for the job, but the relationship between Neil Henry, Jarryd Hayne and the playing group had seriously degenerated. A clean state and a fresh start was required, and the club will have that with Brennan’s appointment.

Smart recruits

Gold Coast’s two marquee purchases for 2018 are Michael Gordon and Leilani Latu. Neither of them are stars by any means, but both fill positions of need for the club. Gordon might be 34, but he’s still safe as a bank and a canny operator at the back. The Tweed Heads junior is coming off a throwback season with the Roosters and is the kind of personality that can help change the culture at the Titans.



Michael Gordon will finish his career with the Gold Coast Titan. Picture: Jerad Williams
Latu fills a void at prop and between him, Wallace and incoming Broncos forward Jai Arrow the Titans have the foundation of a very handy middle. Mobile for his size but capable of getting through some serious work, Latu has been an underrated contributor for the last couple of seasons at Penrith. These kind of low risk, canny signings are the best way to build the club back up. Rarely does one big signing make the difference for a club – the small signings along the way pave the way for the marquee purchase.

Originally published as Expect the unexpected from 2018 Titans

[DIEHARD]

Titans boss Graham Annesley says ex-coach Neil Henry to thank for recruiting strategy
http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/

AXED coach Neil Henry has emerged as the surprise figure credited with masterminding the Gold Coast’s homegrown NRL recruitment drive.

Renowned for his list management abilities, Henry brought a number of footballers raised on the Coast or Northern Rivers back to the Titans in his three-year tenure including Ryan Simpkins, Tyrone Roberts, Jarrod Wallace, Keegan Hipgrave and Jai Arrow.

He and the club are understood to be on less than friendly terms after his controversial sacking in August amid a feud with then marquee player Jarryd Hayne.

But Titans boss Graham Annesley praised Henry for starting the recruitment theme that has proven popular with fans.

Henry’s successor Garth Brennan has since lured local products including Michael Gordon, Will Matthews, Brenko Lee, Brendan Elliot and Jai Whitbread.

“To be fair to Neil Henry, that was a focus for him,” Annesley told the Bulletin.

“We have over 6000 local juniors in our catchment area and that’s right up there just behind Parramatta and Penrith as the biggest junior nurseries.

“There’s Gold Coast players playing right through the competition so making sure that we develop our own – you can’t keep them all – but hopefully identify and keep the best ones and in some cases bring players back.

“It’s good for the community, it’s good for the club, it’s good for the club culture.

“It started under Neil and Garth is very much of the same kind of thinking so he definitely has continued that – in fact probably accelerated it.”

Annesley said it’s a drive he wants to continue as far as possible.

“I don’t think you will ever have a team that runs out where your whole starting 17 is local juniors but it would be a good thing if we got to that,” he said.

The strategy certainly sat well with their most recent recruit, Brenko Lee.

“Garth said he wanted to bring back a lot of southeast Queensland kids and start recruiting like that instead of buying players,” Lee said.

“What he explained to me really opened my eyes and really showed me that the club is going in the right direction.”

Lee officially joined the Titans on Thursday on a one-year deal.