2021 Squad, Signings and Rumours Thread

[DIEHARD]

No place for mediocrity as Titans culture boss Mal Meninga turns up heat on his Gold Coast stars

For the past decade the Titans have been the whipping boys of the NRL. But Titans culture boss Mal Meninga says the Gold Coast are now in a position to win premierships.

Titans culture boss Mal Meninga says it’s time to earn respect and has challenged Titans stars to end a decade of mediocrity by breaking the club’s premiership duck this season.

The recruitment of Queensland Origin stars David Fifita and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui has fuelled hopes the regenerated Titans will charge into the finals and be the NRL’s breakout team.

But on the eve of Saturday’s season-opener against the Warriors at Central Coast Stadium, Meninga has drawn a cultural line in the sand, saying the Titans must turn potential into title-winning performances.

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Since their 2007 inception, the Titans have won no premierships, claimed two wooden-spoons and qualified for the finals once in the past 10 seasons.

But last year’s ninth-placing under Justin Holbrook showed signs of a revival.

Now, having helped orchestrate two of the biggest signings in the club’s history, Meninga urged Titans top-liners to awaken the NRL’s sleeping giant.

“Our target is to win comps,” Meninga said. “I’m not going to shy away from that, we want to win premierships but a lot of things have to fall your way, you need luck with injuries.

“If you don’t make the finals, you are no chance of winning the competition, so it’s important we start well this season and build some momentum.

“Our vision is to be a dominant club, we want to be pushing for finals footy every year and putting ourselves in the picture to win premierships.

“The whole ecosystem of the club has to be healthy. To be challenging for comps, you have to have the right processes on and off the field. It’s much bigger than just the playing group.

“Clubs are judged by results on the field but without the right structures off the field, you don’t win premierships.”

The challenge for the Titans will be handling fresh levels of expectation. Last season, they won five consecutive games when the finals were out of reach and NRL rivals did not fear them as a premiership force.

But this year, Meninga accepts the Titans have a target on their backs, with a quality pack headlined by Fifita and Fa’asuamaleaui.

“It’s time for us to earn respect,” he said. “The Titans started to get that at the back end of last year, so that’s why it’s important we start this year in the right fashion and have a strong season. A good start … will build on that respect for the club.

“I expect David and Tino to do their job within the team collective. With more experience, I have no doubt David and Tino will be better players and we believe we have the right coaching staff to further their careers.”

http://www.gcbulletin.com.au

[JunctionBlock]

Hope we haven't started negotiations with Ash yet. Let him play for it.

[Boonarga]

Hope we haven't started negotiations with Ash yet. Let him play for it.

He needs to be "future endeavoured". Any time he makes a mistake the bottom lip drops and he's gone for the game.
Compare that to a guy like Maloney who forgot what happened 10 seconds ago and played what was in front of him.

[Upthetits]

Strange that bsmith has come out and said he hasn't offered to pay his way out of his storm contract. It's a weird article for a journo to make up put of thin air. I wonder if the titans are putting pressure on him to get an early release now that we have missed out on csmith.

[indoallstars]

I hope we are putting pressure to get him, we need a hooker and 1 big body outside back to complete the squad.

[indoallstars]

Can someone please post saying we are going after Staggs and Piakura.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...98472d6108d451

[Hail Sezer]

Can someone please post saying we are going after Staggs and Piakura.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...98472d6108d451

David Fifita may be just the tip of the iceberg in the increasingly incendiary battle between Brisbane and Gold Coast as the Broncos brace for decisions from Titans targets Kotoni Staggs and emerging star Brendan Piakura over their respective futures.

Staggs and Piakura are believed to be close to making calls on where they will play next season as they weigh up staying in Brisbane, moving to the Gold Coast or shifting to Sydney, where interest in both has been strong.

Both are regarded as key pieces of Brisbane’s future and the last thing the Broncos can afford is to lose one or both. They remain quietly confident that they will stay, but that hasn’t stopped the Titans having a dip at the pair as they continue to strike at the heart of their near neighbours.

Fifita was the biggest warning shot yet across the bow of the Broncos. The Queensland and Test forward made his premiership debut for the Titans on Saturday afternoon against the Warriors and while it may have been a tepid showing, it later emerged he had spent time in hospital in the lead-up dealing with an infection in his foot.

The barnstorming backrower still ran for 110 metres but he lacked his usual punch and power. He will no doubt be better for the run and intent on proving a point against his former club and teammates when the Titans host Brisbane on Friday night.

Fifita spent months mulling over his future, at one point apparently agreeing to stay in Brisbane only to change his mind and take up a multimillion-dollar deal with the Gold Coast. It was a sledgehammer blow to the Broncos.

Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook has preached patience with his new recruits and you can understand why after watching them labour against the Warriors. For all the hype that has shadowed the club in the pre-season, the Broncos looked the more likely finalists as they gave Parramatta a fright at Suncorp Stadium.

It was the first real sign that the Broncos have made progress under Walters and will no doubt help their cause as they valiantly attempt to convince Staggs and Piakura to remain in Brisbane, not to mention winger Xavier Coates and halfback Tom Dearden.


Staggs also has big-money interest on the table from Canterbury, as does Piakura. It is hard to imagine either would have been impressed had they watched the Bulldogs get bashed by Newcastle on Friday night.

Then again, the Titans were far from impressive in their loss to the Warriors while the Broncos had a red-hot go against Parramatta, but still couldn’t get across the line. Their cause against the Titans hasn’t been helped by injury — Matt Lodge will miss the game with a hamstring problem while Coates and John Asiata are in doubt.

“I thought the Warriors were really good,” former Brisbane forward Gorden Tallis said on Triple M NRL.

“The Titans didn’t lay the platform. It was 10 or 12 minutes before they gave their big signing David Fifita the ball.

“There are some combinations they will be working on. They will need to be better on Friday night aghast the Broncos because the Broncos actually had a red-hot go against the Eels.

“But to where they were last year, I think they are better.”

Tallis also called for calm in relation to the performance of Fifita and fellow new recruit Tino Fa’asuamaleau. The pair have been cited as evidence of a shift in the power balance in southeast Queensland, where the Broncos have long been the dominant force.

Yet the pendulum has swung back to the Gold Coast over the past 12 months and the Titans can make an emphatic statement with a win on Friday night. If that is to happen, Fa’asuamaleau and Fifita will need to be at their best.

“Tino had 16 carries and 30-odd tackles,” Tallis said.

“Dave Fifita at the end of the game had 15 carries or something like that. It was the way they’re used. That was the first time they have played with those guys.

“Sometimes it takes time to strike up a combination — it took me 12 months when I went to Brisbane to strike up the combination.

“Sometimes it can take longer than you think.”

- - - Updated - - -

Nothing new, just a timely piece to kick off derby week

[indoallstars]

Thanks HS, agreed get the rivalry happening. Wouldn't make sense do go after Piakura with our stock of young forwards. Kotoni would make more sense as we need another strike weapon in the outside backs.

[gotitans101_]

At this stage I don't give two ****s about signings that aren't a 6, 7 or a 9. This post may upset some people but, the fact is that if our spine can't kick on this year with the forward pack that we have, then they never will. Ash can go, Rein can go, Fogs I don't know. AJ has shown enough.

[Mr Bods]

That article is just a shots fired piece by the Drongoe Mail.

[willhelm]

At this stage I don't give two ****s about signings that aren't a 6, 7 or a 9. This post may upset some people but, the fact is that if our spine can't kick on this year with the forward pack that we have, then they never will. Ash can go, Rein can go, Fogs I don't know. AJ has shown enough.

Agree with this

[Mexican titan]

At this stage I don't give two ****s about signings that aren't a 6, 7 or a 9. This post may upset some people but, the fact is that if our spine can't kick on this year with the forward pack that we have, then they never will. Ash can go, Rein can go, Fogs I don't know. AJ has shown enough.

Spot on.
I've been saying for a while that it is no good having a V8 pack with a pair (or three) of Volvo drivers showing the way.

[Whats Doing]

So that was why Gould was on the coast to sign Reece Walsh

[Titanic]

So that was why Gould was on the coast to sign Reece Walsh

I posted somewhere that like smoke, wherever Gould is there’s fire.

[indoallstars]

So we are after Brandon Smith, Kotoni Staggs, Xavier Coates, Piakura......brisbane must be hating this either way it should drive up all their prices.

I would be happy if we secure a hooker and a strike outside back either Kotoni or Coates