2022 Season General Discussion Thread

[shamus]

On the bright side, if Parramatta beat Tigers next week we move to 15th…yay

Should be enough for Holbrook to keep his job.

I actually think he will still be here for a little while longer. JMO.

[coreythompson]

Corey Thompson hasn't played bad this year
He just fumbled some balls because of a hand injury other than that he is going well

Why doesn't he get picked


Wish we kept Mitch Rein or Nathan Peats

[Titanic]

My take: Isaako a mistake; Campbell not ready, Sexton not ready; Proctor and Wallace given too much influence should have both been demoted or traded; AJ not a 5/8; Clarke not NRL standard; and when you put all that together a building year became a disaster. The rest are honest toilers who have suffered from above.

[5 Year Contract]

After a nice few month break from anything titans related I sat down Friday night to watch the knights game and good lord have things gone from bad to worse.

Im not going to add anything more than other have said:

Holbrook: He has lived and died on his selections and they have been that far off the mark its not funny. Marzhew benched (while leading the league in tackle breaks). Issako, Clark, Wallace, Proctor, Herbert the list goes on of players who have shown week in week out that they are not to NRL standard and nothing happens. Yeah its not all his fault but hes not going to get us to where we need to be.

Recruitment: Just pathetic. They get lucky with a Tino signing but seriously. Look at it this way
Herbert is just Hoffman, Sarginson, Watkins,
Fifita is just Taylor, Idris Hayne
Liu is just Shannon Boyd/ Leilani Latu

Seriously we just seem to be replacing medicore backs with medicore backs. Overpayed and over the hill forwards with no heart and not a single big name signing seems to pay off. This needs to change. Also not to give up a source but I know someone at the club and he does not have positive things to say about Howe especially his professionalism.


Development: I honestly feel sorry for Sexton, we dont seem to be a club that can bring out the best in anyone really. Thats not to say he doesnt have his faults but we arent a club where players come and get better and in cases like tino its in spite of the club rather than because of it.

Coaching: Honestly its been 10 years now. We still give up 10m every hitup. Our wingers and centres still dont stay out and not give up and overlap and our middle is still swiss cheese the second the pressure comes on. I remember reading in the off season how Payton had the cowboys look at how many tackles within their 20 until the opposition scored. The cowboys were something like 8 tackles per try and the panthers were something like 38-40. Thats all they worked on. what have we done to address any of these issue?

Basically, radical changes are required top to bottom and its now up to the club to show some guts.

I email the club yesterday with my feelings and hopefully will hear back. I will watch every game in the remainder of the season, not for any hope that we are going to turn a corner but hopefully there are a few green shoots coming throught that show we have a future.

Good to be back and glad we have a forum like this to discuss the good (and mostly bad) of our club.

[The Birdman]

After a nice few month break from anything titans related I sat down Friday night to watch the knights game and good lord have things gone from bad to worse.

Im not going to add anything more than other have said:

Holbrook: He has lived and died on his selections and they have been that far off the mark its not funny. Marzhew benched (while leading the league in tackle breaks). Issako, Clark, Wallace, Proctor, Herbert the list goes on of players who have shown week in week out that they are not to NRL standard and nothing happens. Yeah its not all his fault but hes not going to get us to where we need to be.

Recruitment: Just pathetic. They get lucky with a Tino signing but seriously. Look at it this way
Herbert is just Hoffman, Sarginson, Watkins,
Fifita is just Taylor, Idris Hayne
Liu is just Shannon Boyd/ Leilani Latu

Seriously we just seem to be replacing medicore backs with medicore backs. Overpayed and over the hill forwards with no heart and not a single big name signing seems to pay off. This needs to change. Also not to give up a source but I know someone at the club and he does not have positive things to say about Howe especially his professionalism.


Development: I honestly feel sorry for Sexton, we dont seem to be a club that can bring out the best in anyone really. Thats not to say he doesnt have his faults but we arent a club where players come and get better and in cases like tino its in spite of the club rather than because of it.

Coaching: Honestly its been 10 years now. We still give up 10m every hitup. Our wingers and centres still dont stay out and not give up and overlap and our middle is still swiss cheese the second the pressure comes on. I remember reading in the off season how Payton had the cowboys look at how many tackles within their 20 until the opposition scored. The cowboys were something like 8 tackles per try and the panthers were something like 38-40. Thats all they worked on. what have we done to address any of these issue?

Basically, radical changes are required top to bottom and its now up to the club to show some guts.

I email the club yesterday with my feelings and hopefully will hear back. I will watch every game in the remainder of the season, not for any hope that we are going to turn a corner but hopefully there are a few green shoots coming throught that show we have a future.

Good to be back and glad we have a forum like this to discuss the good (and mostly bad) of our club.

I agree with all of this. Great post

[Randomologist]

Good post, agreed.

Tino reminds me a lot of Arrow, shouldering the forward pack 's responsibilities while everyone else plods along. I may
be wrong, but from memory I think Holbrook said they didn't do a boot camp this year. Given we look both unwilling and unfit, I think they need to copy the Storm's style of preseason for next year and flog them.

[Titanic]

Changing things down never works if you’re building a culture.

For those interested I did get a response from the club sharing their disappointment and stating their intent to drive forward. No insights, as to be expected.

[gotitans101_]

https://www.rugbyleagueeyetest.com/2...itans-do-well/

Perhaps even send that through with your emails to the club to show them just how bad we really are.

[lonegull]

[QUOTE=gotitans101_;429702]https://www.rugbyleagueeyetest.com/2...itans-do-well/

Wow these are very interesting stats and data, we are just terrible in every facet at present this should be given to the owners and the hierarchy it paints a pretty dim picture but shows how bad of a side the titans really are in comparison to other NRL Sides. And to top things of the titans have the 3 worst players in the league with the player contribution index.

[Menoitios]

What is wrong with the Gold Coast Titans? Liam O'Loughlin.

What is wrong with the Titans in 2022? That is a great question, and there's no singular answer.

After a 2021 campaign that saw them return to finals football and come within a whisker of knocking off the Roosters, Gold Coast have fallen off this year and are sitting in last spot on the NRL ladder.

Their latest defeat at the hands of Newcastle, who have also been struggling this year and were missing star fullback Kalyn Ponga, has led to plenty of headlines and question marks regarding the embattled outfit.

Justin Holbrook looked to be the man to lead them to the promised land, but reports now indicate he could be in the firing line and headed the way of Nathan Brown, Trent Barrett and Michael Maguire.

Gold Coast have recruited and retained quality players during Holbrook's tenure, but it just isn't translating into results right now for them.

Tino Fa'asuamaleaui is the one man who has been a great buy and is a consistent asset in the middle of the field - but the signing of David Fifita is yet to pay dividends on a consistent basis for the Titans, despite his enormous talent and game-breaking ability.

AJ Brimson is an exceptional player with a decade of footy ahead of him, but has been shuffled around between the halves and fullback. Jayden Campbell has struggled with injury all year, while prop Moeaki Fotuaika has dipped in form since making his Origin debut for Queensland.

But the issues aren't those big-money or big-name players. When you look across the Titans' best 17, there are some gaping holes despite the aforementioned names in their lineup.

The biggest issue is hooker.

Erin Clark, for as hard as he may try, is not anywhere near the elite dummy-halves in the competition. In fact, he may be the least effective of any player in his position across the NRL.

Despite his shortcomings, Clark has started at hooker in every single game this year for the Titans, and it's an area that the greatest No.9 of all-time has highlighted as a key issue for the club.

Speaking on SEN's Breakfast With Vossy and Brandy on Monday morning, Cameron Smith spoke about the hooking role at the Titans and what he would do to fix their issues there.

"They may need to have a look at sorting out that No.9 role," he said.

"Tanah Boyd may be the guy that they look at long-term, just to try and clean up their attack a little bitt.

“They’ve got Aaron Booth – he’s had a couple of injuries to start the season and I know he’s been playing in the QLD Cup...he’s a great competitor and played a few games for Melbourne Storm.

"Tanah Boyd actually looks really sharp when he comes on the field for the Titans and he’s a bit of a point of difference for them out of there.

"He’s played most of his career in the halves, but he’s a nuggety little fella and he loves running the football and he’s really dangerous.

"A lot of positive things happen for them in that position (when he is on)."

Boyd may be the solution, but at this stage he is still young and only learning the dummy-half role when he comes off the bench. He is certainly worth persisting with, but they need a No.9 with more experience and game-management ability.

The club were rumoured to be signing Daryl Clark from the Super League at one stage, but that appears to have fallen through.

Gold Coast also allowed Jayden Berrell to slip through the cracks and sign with Cronulla, while Jeremy Marshall-King would have been a perfect solution for them before he inked a deal with The Dolphins.

The other issue is the halves. Toby Sexton is a young player still gaining an understanding of what it takes to wear the No.7 on a weekly basis at NRL level, while a guy like Paul Turner has limited first grade experience.

Holbrook has clearly seen this as an issue, and while it is too late for them in 2022, the addition of Kieran Foran may help their attack in the coming years and aid Sexton in his development.

“They’ve got Kieran Foran coming to them next year, so it will be interesting to see what changes they make there," Smith said.

"This year, they’ve got Toby Sexton – a really young player still learning and I’m sure he is only going to get better playing in the seven jumper, and AJ Brimson in the six.

"It will be interesting to see what they do when Foz makes his way up to the Gold Coast. I think watching Kieran Foran play, it’s some of his best footy that he has played this year.

"I’m sure he will take up one of those starting spots and whether they keep Toby there with him, or they might just have him there to learn a bit more. I think that’s going to make a huge difference, particularly to the way they attack.

"Finals are well and truly gone for them, but the one positive for the Titans is that they are getting a quality playmaker coming to them next year."

Off the field, the vibe around the region may be playing a factor in their performances on it.

According to league great Matty Johns, Holbrook should look at their training and how he can make the Titans into a harder football side.

“When the Knights beat you by 30, that’s rock bottom," he said.

"I caught up with Justin (on the weekend), we were sitting and having a beer, he’s such a champion bloke.

“I reckon they’ve just got to have a harder edge, and that’s easy to say.

"There is a theory, which I actually buy into a little bit – Gold Coast is such a wonderful place, and sometimes I think that can creep into your mindset.

"If I was coaching the Gold Coast, I would just coach them 20 per-cent harder than everyone else. Every day, have the discipline to turn up and know you’re going to work hard and when you train you know there’s going to be contact.

"That tough edge and willingness to stay in a fight – it’s a mindset and it’s like a muscle that needs to be exercised."

Holbrook's future at the club is now clouded, but he has the runs on the board early in his tenure and deserves to be given another year.

Smith revealed the Titans all love playing for Holbrook, who had success in the UK earlier in his career, and believes the performances are due to the players themselves.

“There’s a little bit of talk now about Justin Holbrook and his position and staying on as head coach - I think it’s a little bit unfair – it’s quite unfair actually, to point the finger straight at the coach," he said.

"I’ll tell you the main reason – I see the Titans players around from time to time, I’ve covered a few of their matches, I speak with Tino Fa’asuamelauai a fair bit – and they only have positive things to say about the coach.

"They all like the way he coaches, they like his style, they think he is a coach that’s on the up in the competition. I don’t think it’s the smartest thing to point the finger at a guy that’s heading up the system at the Titans, and just to flick him because of results.

"Last year, these guys played finals – it’s not like things have changed dramatically.

"You’ve just got to watch the Titans games and you can understand why they’re not performing well, and it’s because of the actions on the field.

"At times, they look fantastic…they drop their bundle, when things get hard, it’s almost like they give up."

With a bye round on the horizon, Gold Coast will have a tough time clawing their way out of the bottom-four in the final portion of the season.

Is Holbrook the man to turn things around? Time will only tell, but the solution right now isn't to sack him.

Instead, they need to address the issues on their roster during the off-season and build a more balanced side that can compete with the likes of Penrith and Melbourne.

https://www.sportingnews.com/au/rugb...zuqab5pgjib8zp

[Hail Sezer]

https://www.rugbyleagueeyetest.com/2...itans-do-well/

Perhaps even send that through with your emails to the club to show them just how bad we really are.

This is an excellent find, thanks for posting GT

Huge fan of RLET content

[Menoitios]

Gus explains why sacking Justin Holbrook is not the answer at the Gold Coast Titans

He says there are deeper structural problems at the club that stem from when they entered the competition.


https://www.theroar.com.au/rugby-lea...itans-1209392/

[The Birdman]

Gus explains why sacking Justin Holbrook is not the answer at the Gold Coast Titans

He says there are deeper structural problems at the club that stem from when they entered the competition.


https://www.theroar.com.au/rugby-lea...itans-1209392/

I can't get the video in the link to work

[Menoitios]

I'll try again...if it doesn't work, just go on the roar and open the league section.

https://www.theroar.com.au/rugby-lea...itans-1209392/

[Ausphin]

In the last couple of months amid some disasterous results and speculation about Holbrook’s future, as a supporter since day 1, I have found myself disillusioned and questioning the future of this club. I used to fire up when others questioned whether we would still be around in 10 years and used to scoff at suggestions this year to get rid of Holbrook, but I must admit that after news broke about Holbrook last week (albeit Buzz Rothfield, so hardly a reliable source), I started thinking what we might look like with a different coach (Flanagan, Green?). But upon reflection, not sure that is the answer.

I can’t stand Gould, but agree with his point in the link Meniotios posted, we have no identity and that goes back to our early days. We have done some good work recently in the local juniors space, but that is not going to materialize immediately. What we need is a team of players who are desperate to play here and see success for this club. I think we have some of them already in Tino, AJ, Mo, Fermor and JC, but we need more.

We need to stop with the big money signings unless they are a critical player in our spine. The days of signing players like Hayne, Idris, Cartwright, Peachey, Shannon Boyd and to a lesser extent Fifita need to stop. I don’t think Fifita is just here for a paycheck, but he was never going to make the impact to match his contract.

We need to work out what it takes to be a TITAN. To me, it should be something tangible and represented by a previous player:-

Toughness (Preston Campbell)
Intelligence (Scott Prince)
Teamwork (Nathan Friend)
Attitude (Ryan James)
Non-stop (Luke Bailey)

If a player doesn’t embody these characteristics, then they are not for us. You look at current players like Wallace, Proctor, Herbert and Isaako. To me they all have errors in them (intelligence, attitude) and it doesn’t appear to matter to them (toughness, attitude, non-stop) like it does to Tino or AJ when we are losing or not playing well. Wallace weekly gives away dumb penalties and just grins about it.

There are no short cuts, but we need a roster clean out and some coaching staff changes. Defence is a priority and new defensive coach and recruitment manager are vital. Watching the PNG/FIJI test you saw how much it meant to them and I wish we had some of that attitude. Not saying this will turn the club around but think there is a real opportunity to build something with PNG. I would be signing Lachie Lam and Kyle Laybutt for next year. Lam could start with Foran and Laybutt depth. Jacob Alick, who is already in our squad should be pushing for bench role next year. You look at the way McKenzie Yei played in the test and tell me he couldn’t match what Lisone or Ese Ese give us each week off the bench.

Bring back David Mead in a mentor role and give 3-5 PNG players train and trial deals each year. We could definitely benefit from some more supporters /members and given Marcus Bai started his career here and David Mead’s current status in PNG, we could build our profile in PNG, who are Rugby League mad.

Finally, I would like to see some former players back in some roles with the club. In addition to Mead, what about Nathan Friend on the Strength & Conditioning team or Ryan James in some mentor / leadership role. Tino is one of my favourite players but I worry about the pressure of captaincy. 100% he should be club captain given he embodies this club, but we need an experienced voice of reason on the field as team captain. Slim pickings at the moment, but may have to be Foran for next couple of seasons.