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  1. #1
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    Default Titans forge formal link with QLD Cup feeder teams Tweed Heads, Burleigh

    GARTH Brennan has underlined his commitment to develop the Gold Coast’s rugby league talent after the Titans inked formal deals with Queensland Cup outfits Tweed and Burleigh to ensure the region’s best players have a pathway to the NRL.

    The end of the national under-20 competition, combined with NRL outfits having to contract at least 30 senior players, has made development more important than ever.

    It’s an area that Brennan has long believed in. And the Titans have come to the party, establishing formal deals with Burleigh and Tweed and Brennan set to delve deeper into schools and junior programs to ensure the best Gold Coast talent stays with the club.

    “Anyone who wants to play NRL at the Gold Coast Titans, they need to realise that the pathway to get here is through Burleigh and Tweed,” Brennan said.

    “There’s always going to be times where we have to recruit from outside the area but my first port of call will be Burleigh and Tweed and the local area when it comes to recruitment.

    “That was my vision for the club right from the start was to develop from within the Gold Coast area and obviously Burleigh and Tweed play a massive part in that.

    “They’re our link to the community to start with, so it’s important that we do have a really good relationship and I’m determined to get as many local Gold Coast kids in those systems as I can for pathways through to the NRL.”

    In part, that will mean the feeder clubs playing a Titans brand of football, something Burleigh coach Jimmy Lenihan — who has been at training sessions this week — and Tweed assistant Darryl Fisher, had no problem with.

    “I think it’s the right pathway model,” Fisher said.

    “There’ll still be a lot of good 20s coming through into the NRL but through the Cup pathway first.

    “It makes sense to be as closely aligned with the top side, so that when players do get that opportunity, they’re ready for it.”

    Lenihan said Queensland Cup would remain a breeding ground for NRL players and having links formal links with the Titans made sense.

    “If you ever want to play first grade, you’ve still got to try and be in a Queensland Cup club and push through,” Lenihan said.

    “There’s always going to be support with the Titans and their recruitment but they’ve only got 30 players that they can hold on to and the Coast is a very big area, so I think there’s still an importance in trying to get the best kids funnelling into those systems knowing that that’s the next step.

    “If you want to play NRL, you’ve got to play QCup.”

    Brennan and his staff will be hands on with Lenihan and Tweed’s coaching staff, including head coach Ben Woolf, the former Titans under-20 mentor already familiar with many of the region’s best players.

    “They don’t have to play exactly the same style of football that we do but the fundamentals are going to be pretty much the same,” Brennan said.

    “At least that way, it gives the kids a headstart when they come into our systems or get a call-up to the NRL — it’s not foreign to them.

    “My coaches and I will be very hands-on with Burleigh and Tweed, we’ll be there to help wherever we can.

    “They’re very good coaches in their own right, I don’t want to be hovering over them, but I want them to know that we’re there to help them wherever we can — and hopefully it goes both ways and they can develop some players for us.”

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  2. #2
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    This has been discussed by the Forum many times and to be honest if this wasn’t the model before then WTF were they doing?
    Four reasons to escape to Queensland: Sun, Surf, Sand & the Titans.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Titanic View Post
    This has been discussed by the Forum many times and to be honest if this wasn’t the model before then WTF were they doing?
    Yes.... I was shocked that this was actually a new thing? We didn't have a formal link?
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  4. #4
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    Yes I saw but didn't read the article because it didn't seem like news.
    But having read it the dynamic of not having the U20s to showcase skills at a national level means the best way is to grow as a player is through QCup. There must have been some sort of agreement with Burleigh and Tweed because the unpicked Titans players had a place to go each weekend to play footy.

  5. #5
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    I am guessing here but the only difference I see is that Bears and Tweed rather than play as per their coaches instructions will now both play a similar style of football to the Titans as per Brennan's instructions. I have no clue but do other feeder clubs do that?

    This is similar to soccer (A-League). The FFA instruct all clubs on what formation to use. (4-3-3) so all clubs use this formation so if any player gets called up to the national squad they are already familiar with the format. Ange changed this to 3-2-4-1 and upset the FFA but I digress. I can only see this as a good thing and I do need to ask...is this a first? or as mentioned do other feeder clubs do this?

  6. #6

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    im not sure Shamus, but i do recall a decade or so the NZ super rugby teams were all meant to develop talent and play style in a manner that fits into the All Blacks Structure. Someone more involved in NZ rugby can let me know if i have that correct or not.

    I like the idea of it a lot.

  7. #7
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    I'm certainly not being critical of the arrangement but I'm totally amazed that this isn't the norm. The coaching teams and separately the recruitment guys of all affiliates (including regionals) should be brainstorming under the guidance of the NRL franchise.
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  8. #8
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    I'm a bit perplexed at the orders to play Titans style football. Which I guess is a style of football we haven't seen yet. We need to tread carefully with the clubs.
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  9. #9
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    Does this mean Brennan was Coaching Panther style footy at the last team he coached?

  10. #10
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    Let’s not over-think the Brennan style and give him a chance to show what he’s got. At the moment he seems to have taken the best of the Forum and is implementing it.
    Four reasons to escape to Queensland: Sun, Surf, Sand & the Titans.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Titanic Believer View Post
    Does this mean Brennan was Coaching Panther style footy at the last team he coached?
    Good question!
    PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!

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  12. #12
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    Good to see some positive news.


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