Des Hasler new Titans coach

[gotitans101_]

It’s incredibly ruthless.

But I don’t think it’s unprofessional. Unprofessional would’ve been doing it the Dragons way. There isn’t really a nice way to go about it unfortunately.

Everyone has been calling for the club to not be complacent or accept mediocrity. Well there you go. This is what that looks like. Mitchell handled the situation well in that presser IMO.

I really feel for Justin. But as Mitchell said - they had expectations and measurables going into the season with the football squad that weren’t being met. Tough business.

yeah agree, unprofessional was probably the wrong word for it after what we all witnessed with Hook & the Dragons. Definitely bloody harsh though.

[Cowabunga]

It would of gotten out in the media if they had warned him or something would of leaked and it would of turned into a gong show imo, I'd prefer we keep things in house. It's harsh but I think this way is better for the club, Maybe not the coach but that's not really my problem when the club comes first.

[ozynorts]

Wow. It’s a ruthless business and if you don’t improve your gone. Holbrook had more than enough time to show improvement and it was getting worse.
Nervous about Des though, the Bulldogs are still trying to recover from his time there.

[Gold Coast 88]

I personally think that Justin Holbrook had us on the right path, I hope that he is not lost to the game.

I feel for the bloke, i dont like to see anyone lose their job. Agree his personality and the way he treated all at the club was exceptional.

Not sure what was the catalyst for this decision, Dolphins. loss, Brimson/ Campbell roundabout, same 17 each week except for the outside back change.
Maybe its how quickly the Dolphins have grabbed a sport on the SE QLD landscape

So next year +60yr old coaches- Bennett, Hasler, Bellamy, Sheens, interesting that what is old is new

[5 Year Contract]

Now that Mal has indicated he’s leaving I know optic wise it’s not a great look having the Australian coach leave but what was Mals actual role these days. Since he moved from Canberra you barely hear from him but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t active behind the scenes.

I agree though, the board finally acted in the best interest of the club. All the good work off the field is being undone by a sub par product on the field. If there isn’t a seismic shift like bringing in a new coach then it’s wasting time and not growing your club he won’t support a poor team

[Titanic Believer]

Wow. Big Mal not consulted about the decision ! what sort of advisor is that?

[Upthetits]

why would you sack him effective immediately if Des doesn't come in until next year?

Limit the damage he could do by getting in the group of players ears

[Titanic Believer]

what a brutal business. Gutted for Holbrook and the timing is mystifying. Mostly fear of how players react and moral of the club. Are we heading back to the bad old days?

[Upthetits]

Really excited, if we land hunt also....wow. Hunt and foran leading around this side would be incredible.

Love how the club is water tight now, seems to be so well run compared to previous administrations.

Also, I hope they don't give des full control of signings. He's absolutely ruined 2 clubs previously. Titans need to stick to the group signoff process they've been using.

[The Birdman]

I like the quote if we were coming second he wouldn't have been sacked. No sh*t mate.

Also him saying he just needed the rest of the year to prove himself with players coming back from injury totally ignores the fact that he hasn't been able to create any meaningful improvement in regards to our second half fadeouts and defensive performance and structure over multiple seasons.

He was also picking certain players (eg Clark) that EVERYONE except him thought should be dropped over and over again. And they repaid him with piss poor performances. He refused to make adjustments when it was clear they were required. We were on a treadmill at best if we kept him on.

I felt those two particular comments from Holbrook showed a bit of cognitive dissonance.

[psmitty]

Hasler targets premierships after shock signing as Titans coach

Michael Chammas
Updated June 22, 2023 — 1.26pm


Des Hasler believes he can win a premiership within his three-year tenure at the Gold Coast Titans, returning to the NRL coaching fray after a tumultuous exit from the Manly Sea Eagles last year.

The NRL coaching merry-go-round went into overdrive on the morning after State of Origin II when the Titans announced the immediate departure of coach Justin Holbrook, trumpeting the signature of Hasler for 2024.

The Titans reached out to Hasler and his management at the start of last week after the club’s 28-12 win over the Wests Tigers to gauge his interest in heading north of the border for the first time in his career.

Despite still not having reached a settlement in his legal battle with Manly over his pay-out from his old club, the 62-year-old had no hesitation jumping back into the hot-seat.

Hasler, who wasn’t pursued by the Dragons in their search for a coach, expressed an immediate desire to get his hands on the club’s talented but inconsistent roster.

Within 10 days, without any mention in the press and while the Titans players were off enjoying the bye round, the club managed to secure a deal.

Hasler told those close to him that he believes there is enough talent on the roster for the Titans to win a premiership during his three-year reign, which won’t begin until next year.

Hasler wants to honour some pre-arranged family commitments, therefore won’t join the club until the start of preseason on November 1. It will give him five months to mould and influence the roster and style of football in preparation for his arrival.

“I’m looking forward to joining the Titans and to the 2024 season,” Hasler said in a statement released by the club.

“The club has a strong playing roster, the region is blessed with emerging talent and the organisation is firmly embedded in the community. I’m confident we can deliver success to the region in the coming seasons.”

Titans chief executive Steve Mitchell only informed Holbrook at about 9.30am on Thursday morning. Within a couple of hours, Hasler was announced as his successor, handing the Titans assistant coaches the task of leading the ninth-placed side to the finals this year.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/has...22-p5dilk.html

[Cowabunga]

I'm going to laugh so hard if we look way more competent with Jimmy and he just makes some minor smarter interchange calls and Holbrook has to sit there stunned.

I love Holbrook for what he's done dragging us out of worst time and making us competent, To say you had no clue any of this would happen is insanity and maybe proves why he got fired. You've been getting reviewed for a year now., Had assistant coaches and everything changed bought in for you, We've choked constantly due to your decisions in a lot of peoples opinions. Just because we beat the potential wooden spooners doesn't mean you get time...

In fact I love this more that it seems it didn't matter if we won or loss the Tigers game, Time was done. The club is making a statement saying mediocrity isn't going to be accepted moving forward.

Everything had been changed pretty much besides Holbrook and this is probably a way of forcing out Mal it sounds like to me. We gave these guys 3-4 years and we've hit a roadblock with Holbrook and his decision making and we moved on when that was really evident.

I'm very excited going forward, Even if Des doesn't work out this proves the club isn't going to accept being average any longer and the board/owners seem to be on top of most of the concerns all of us have here.

[Titslover]

I agree Cowa, what excites me is that the club has shown that they're prepared to be ruthless in the pursuit of success. It's brutal for Holbrook but to win premierships you can't accept mediocrity. Buzz actually made a great point on 360 tonight, Braith was saying that we came 13th last year and are sitting 9th at the moment so it's not like we've been that bad. And Buzz said "The Titans have decided that coming 9th with 3 byes isn't good enough anymore, they want to be in the top 4 and challenging for premierships, and I applaud them for it." Very keen to see what the future brings.

[willhelm]

Ignore byes and we’re coming 13th with losses to 3 out of 4 of the teams below us.

[Cowabunga]

We've been pretty ruthless even during Holbrooks era imo but in his vision, Issue is it was being built badly till last year when obviously something happened that got our recruitment really on track with some luck like Verrills and Foran being able to leave but other buys, The years before that was shocking and letting Fogarty go I still don't like.

Holbrook got to rebuild a squad within pretty much 2 years becauses the club spent a tonne of money to give him the chance to be a great coach. The club has been spending more money then most clubs do imo, Frizelle and Kelly have been incredible owners imo and really put their money into the club and Hire, Release and do whatever is asked.

Like I said I love what he's done for the club and wish him the best but stuff like saying you got Fifita re-signed and JC.... Nah you helped but you're not the sole reason, Then the excuses about injuries when every team has them... I get it but that hasn't been what's really costing us games.

I get the vibe that him and Mal were circlejerking each other thinking this was all going to come good with a healthy team when there's been obvious changes needed for a while.

Also others might know more... Is Mal not just a consultant at this point and pretty much got demoted a few years ago?? It seems he's offended because Holbrook was his choice and it's not great for him? I'm confused why he's acting like we cucked him when all he's really there for is advice?

The fact Holbrook instantly talks to Badel gives me big red flags to, I get being emotional but go on holiday for a couple weeks and also kind of proves Steve Mitchells point imo about things very tight at the club... Rookie coaches in the NRL or even guys getting a second chance would absolutely kill for the assets Holbrook was given. He'll never be given a shot like this again.....