2023 Squad, Signings and Rumours Thread

[lonegull]

Interesting, before my time. I wonder if anyone here watched him play besides Step and Titanic.

I remember him, smaller type player who played well above his weight had a bit of flare and unpredictability about his game.

[Titanic]

Interesting, before my time. I wonder if anyone here watched him play besides Step and Titanic.

Yes I did Willy and in compliance with your wishes will refrain from commenting lol.

[AliDavysStep]

lol no I meant I wanna know who you are named after

Who is Ali Davy?

Ah Yeah he was quite a small nippy player. Didn’t set the league on fire but had a couple of blinders next to Wally.

[Titanic]

Sorry Willy but I can't resist. I remember somebody, perhaps Mark Ross at Seagulls after the Port Moresby Vipers/NSW Country game of the one-season East Coast League, telling me about a halfback from Kiwi they were chasing and eventually Aly appeared a year later. Went ok too but I feel they made they wrong choice. I was coaching the Vipers that year and our halfback Aquila Emil was the best player in the comp. He eventually went to the Cows and sadly got shot dead on an off-season trip back to Port Moresby. Just a bit of mid-week trivia lads.

[Cowabunga]

AJ 3-4, Verrills 4-6 and Jolliffe 5-6 more weeks out according to Holbrook.

[shamus]

Ah Yeah he was quite a small nippy player. Didn’t set the league on fire but had a couple of blinders next to Wally.

So AliDavys, you wouldn’t have been known as DavidBouveng in the past would you?

[AliDavysStep]

So AliDavys, you wouldn’t have been known as DavidBouveng in the past would you?

No

[Hail Sezer]

So AliDavys, you wouldn’t have been known as DavidBouveng in the past would you?

LOT legend DB

[Hail Sezer]

Joel Gould must've had a chat to Ezra recently because he's on a bit of a roll with Titans articles

Titans sign 'magnificent seven' until end of 2026

By Joel Gould
Updated May 11 2023 - 3:32pm, first published 3:27pm

The Gold Coast Titans have locked up seven of their big guns and future stars until the end of 2026, in a sign the club is now a destination of choice for NRL players.

Fullback Jayden Campbell this week extended his deal to join captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, second-rowers David Fifita and Beau Fermor, flying winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira and fullbacks AJ Brimson and Keano Kini until 2026.

Titans recruitment chief Ezra Howe has been in the job five years and had no salary cap space to work with when he started after the club over-spent on underperforming players under former coach Garth Brennan's stewardship.

Now the Titans roster has balance and talent to burn.

"It was important for us to sign those seven guys long-term," Howe told AAP.

"Players don't commit long-term unless they see an opportunity to achieve success and genuine stability at a club.

"The young players we have re-signed had outside interest but they can see success and a positive future at the Titans and they want to be part of it."

Campbell, 23, is the son of Titans legend Preston Campbell. He can also play in the halves or off the bench.

"Jayden's first option was to stay on the Gold Coast and he was still happy to, even knowing that this year he might have to play a few positions," Howe said.

"(Coach) Justin Holbrook said it was all about his growth as a player and Jayden bought into that. We know long-term he is good enough to play fullback or five-eighth.

"He believes there is an opportunity to play regularly every week in the NRL and if he couldn't see that he wouldn't have stayed."

The Titans wrapped up Khan-Pereira long-term before he scored 11 tries in his first nine games of NRL.

"Lofi has been at our club since he was 15 . All of those seven players have a close connection to the Gold Coast or Queensland," Howe said.

"All of them are invested in the club having success ... and they care. They are young players but some of them have a lot of NRL experience.

"David Fifita will play his 50th NRL game for the Titans on Sunday (against Newcastle)."

The re-signing of boom forward Fifita was crucial to the Titans' plan to challenge for a title.

"David has taken significantly less money to stay with us and not join other clubs," Howe said.

"He saw what the other six blokes saw. Any club that has success and wins grand finals always has a core group of players that has been together long-term."

The Titans struck gold when they recruited premiership-winners Kieran Foran (five-eighth) and Sam Verrills (hooker) on two-year deals.

Both players signed with the Titans despite the club's poor season in 2022.

"They could both see the bunch of quality young kids we have got here and where we are heading," Howe said.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/sto...l-end-of-2026/

[Hail Sezer]

Bit of Titans content in the CM Sports Con too via Badel & Meyn:

Gold Coast Titans keep eye on Dragons, Ben Hunt’s NRL future

Broncos coach Kevin Walters had dinner with Ben Hunt this week but it’s the Titans who have again been linked with Queensland Origin star amid speculation his trusted coach Anthony Griffin is on the verge of being sacked at the Dragons.

Hunt has previously stated his future at the Red V could hinge on what the club decides to do with Griffin, who appears to be a dead-man walking at the joint-venture club.

Former Broncos halfback Hunt is fiercely loyal to Griffin, whose connection with the Maroons utility goes back 15 years, when he mentored the rising halfback in Brisbane’s under-20s side.

Some rival clubs believe if Griffin is jettisoned by the Dragons, it could be the catalyst for Hunt to follow his good mate ‘Hook’ at the Red V exits.

The Gold Coast has previously made some furtive inquiries about Hunt and it is understood a Titans faction are keen to revisit signing the 33-year-old, who plays his 300th NRL game this weekend.

The Dragons spent the week in camp on the Gold Coast and had a celebration dinner for Hunt’s milestone match on Tuesday night at Royal Pines.

Walters, who coached Hunt at the Broncos and Queensland’s Origin team, made the trip down the M1 for the dinner along with former Broncos hooker Andrew McCullough.

There is just one problem for potential suitors. Hunt is contracted to the Dragons until the end of 2025 and his new two-year extension, signed last season, does not contain a get-out clause.

Titans playmakers Tanah Boyd and Toby Sexton have yet to cement the Gold Coast No.7 jumper, but the Dragons will almost certainly want their No.1 player Hunt to finish his career at the club.

TITANS OWNERS DIG DEEP

The owners of the Gold Coast Titans have made generous donations to paralysed player Joseph Pouniu.

The Kelly and Frizelle families have donated at least $90,000 to a fundraiser for Poiniu.

Poiniu, 17, has been left a quadriplegic after suffering a serious spinal injury while playing for the Future Titans in January.

The strapping teenager was considered to be one of Queensland’s most exciting young talents and a star of the future.

But he has been left in a wheelchair following the sickening incident where he collided with a goalpost.

An initial fundraiser for Poiniu raised $74,000 and now a second one – which Titans legend Anthony Don is running a marathon to raise awareness for – is already up to $95,000.

That has a lot to do with the generous donations of Titans owners Darryl and Jo Kelly and Brett and Rebecca Frizelle.

Via companies linked to them, the Kellys kicked off Don’s fundraiser with a $50,000 donation while the Frizelles have chipped in $40,800.

Don has been blown away by the donations, with the target raised from $100,000 to $300,000 on the back of the Titanic donations.

“It is great that people are so generous with their money,” Don said.

“Every dollar helps because Joey’s got such a long journey ahead of him.

“My training is going well. I ran 30km on the weekend and am trying to get faster.”

Poiniu was a special guest of the Titans at Suncorp Stadium last Sunday to watch their thrilling Magic Round win against Parramatta.

TITAN’S FUTURE BEING MONITORED

The playing future of Titans star AJ Brimson has become one of the hottest topics in Gold Coast sport.

Brimson is currently sitting on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury which has ruled him out for at least a month.

It is the second hamstring injury he has suffered this season. Interestingly, Brimson has torn hamstrings in both legs, so it’s not an aggravation of the earlier injury.

This is on the back of his 2022 season, when he struggled with groin and abdominal problems which left him in debilitating pain for the entire year as he bravely played 22 games.

Sports medicos on the Gold Coast are keeping a close eye on Brimson’s progress due to his worrying run of injuries.

There is a feeling he may need to seek some radical treatment to overcome his persistent problems.

In the past year, NRL stars Latrell Mitchell, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Tom Trbojevic have headed to the US to work with rehab specialist Bill Knowles.

The Titans this week re-signed Jayden Campbell until 2026, giving them a glut of talented fullbacks at the club with rising star Keano Kini and Brimson also secured until 2026.

That has created tremendous competition for the No. 1 jersey, but there is also plenty of insurance options there for the Titans if Brimson’s injury problems continue.

The Titans will also need a five-eighth when Kieran Foran retires at the end of next year.

https://www.codesports.com.au/nrl/sp...4f635e91f87440

- - - Updated - - -

Take the Ben Hunt thing with a grain of salt IMO. Looks like they're just connecting some dots

[Bayside Titan]

Nine News reporting that Verrils hopes to be back against the Bulldogs.


https://twitter.com/9newsgoldcoast/s...YN6ezm8KgAY9-A

[Titslover]

No way, completely contradicts what Justin said today and I'll trust him.

Edit- My bad just watched it, I have no idea what to think now haha. I woudln’t be risking him next week, wait till after the bye to be safe

[Upthetits]

I heard verrils was 3 weeks off not last weekend but the weekend before

[MaroonTitan]

Sorry Willy but I can't resist. I remember somebody, perhaps Mark Ross at Seagulls after the Port Moresby Vipers/NSW Country game of the one-season East Coast League, telling me about a halfback from Kiwi they were chasing and eventually Aly appeared a year later. Went ok too but I feel they made they wrong choice. I was coaching the Vipers that year and our halfback Aquila Emil was the best player in the comp. He eventually went to the Cows and sadly got shot dead on an off-season trip back to Port Moresby. Just a bit of mid-week trivia lads.

Terrible what happened to Emil. I read recently that it was also the reason Paul Bowman got a shot for the Cowboys. They signed him on the loss of Emil.

If that's you Adrian, you chose your Avatar well. Thanks for the trivia. Love it.

[willhelm]

Sorry GT101, Hopgood just re-signed with the Eels