2024 Season General Discussion Thread

[Titanic]

We don’t hear of player power at the winning clubs but we do at losing clubs. We had our own issues around Carty, then during Neil Henry’s time and Holbrook obviously. The answer is sign or bugger-off. I will repeat myself and state if DF believes Holbrook is a better option for his development than Hasler then it’s either what does he know that we don’t or it’s see ya later.

And for a club that is so tight-lipped, where did the detail come from.

[5 Year Contract]

I can’t see Fifita going anywhere I think it’s just the modern NRL where contracts don’t mean sh*t anymore. Even with Des I’m going into this season with absolute rock bottom expectations. We are basically the same team as last year with a new coach, I can’t get fooled into getting hyped again unless you believe Des will finally be the different maker. I pray he is yet we’ve seen a lot of messiahs come in and exit.

Side note from a few days ago, the partnership with the Rockhampton Grammas School is very underrated. My boys go there and they are really starting to become a powerhouse league school. They bought the rugby union complex from the council and there are plans to turn it into a state of the art league/training facility they will share with the QCup capras team. If that’s not a school fair dinkum about league I don’t know what is and will allow the titans to tap into rich vein of players in the region.

[Cowabunga]

https://www.nrl.com/news/2023/01/01/...nings-updates/

I posted it yesterday morning when I noticed the POs besides Fifitas and Tinos name after 26 but wanted a bit of peace this pre season from it but I'm guessing the geniuses at CM have put two and two together after seeing the contracts. I'd be surprised if the top clubs didn't have clauses as well all over the place, the difference is they don't fire their coaches.

I'm not concerned about his pre season, He came back the best he looked last year and there was more talk about him re-signing back then. The thing to watch out for on this situation is probably Shaylee, She's off contract for 25/26 now but I imagine once she's re-signed he'll accept those options pretty quickly, If she goes somewhere else there might be some issues.

[RavShamrock]

I can’t see Fifita going anywhere I think it’s just the modern NRL where contracts don’t mean sh*t anymore. Even with Des I’m going into this season with absolute rock bottom expectations. We are basically the same team as last year with a new coach, I can’t get fooled into getting hyped again unless you believe Des will finally be the different maker. I pray he is yet we’ve seen a lot of messiahs come in and exit.

Mate not sure what you mean about Mesiahs as pretty sure all of our coaches have had zero NRL head coaching success (maybe henry but even he would be debatable). Anyway Des is a complete different breed of cat for us and for me the time has come where there will be no more excuses for us as a Club (especially players). The decision to bring in Des is a seismic change in history for this club and we will soon see whether all of our previous coaching appointments were diabolically wrong or there is in fact a gold coast sporting hoodoo...actually the same could be said for the Suns.

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We don’t hear of player power at the winning clubs but we do at losing clubs. We had our own issues around Carty, then during Neil Henry’s time and Holbrook obviously. The answer is sign or bugger-off. I will repeat myself and state if DF believes Holbrook is a better option for his development than Hasler then it’s either what does he know that we don’t or it’s see ya later.

And for a club that is so tight-lipped, where did the detail come from.

I'm with you all the way here T (I wish I could have just liked this)

Hey Mods, I wish we could reinstate some kind of like button again for this exact circumstance where someone makes a great post and you just want to agree and recognise their input in a positive way but we don't really want to keep re-posting with Quotes unless we have something to add which isn't always the case. Surely we can come up with some type of innovation around the like button that doesn't upset some greedy global firm?

[MaroonTitan]

Mate not sure what you mean about Mesiahs as pretty sure all of our coaches have had zero NRL head coaching success (maybe henry but even he would be debatable). Anyway Des is a complete different breed of cat for us and for me the time has come where there will be no more excuses for us as a Club (especially players). The decision to bring in Des is a seismic change in history for this club and we will soon see whether all of our previous coaching appointments were diabolically wrong or there is in fact a gold coast sporting hoodoo...actually the same could be said for the Suns.

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I'm with you all the way here T (I wish I could have just liked this)

Hey Mods, I wish we could reinstate some kind of like button again for this exact circumstance where someone makes a great post and you just want to agree and recognise their input in a positive way but we don't really want to keep re-posting with Quotes unless we have something to add which isn't always the case. Surely we can come up with some type of innovation around the like button that doesn't upset some greedy global firm?

LIKE

[5 Year Contract]

Mate not sure what you mean about Mesiahs as pretty sure all of our coaches have had zero NRL head coaching success (maybe henry but even he would be debatable). Anyway Des is a complete different breed of cat for us and for me the time has come where there will be no more excuses for us as a Club (especially players). The decision to bring in Des is a seismic change in history for this club and we will soon see whether all of our previous coaching appointments were diabolically wrong or there is in fact a gold coast sporting hoodoo...actually the same could be said for the Suns.

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I'm with you all the way here T (I wish I could have just liked this)

Hey Mods, I wish we could reinstate some kind of like button again for this exact circumstance where someone makes a great post and you just want to agree and recognise their input in a positive way but we don't really want to keep re-posting with Quotes unless we have something to add which isn't always the case. Surely we can come up with some type of innovation around the like button that doesn't upset some greedy global firm?

NRL experience no but you can’t tell me Holbrook wasn’t supposed to be the fresh new mind we needed or that Brennan wasn’t bringing him and his panthers mates (Latu) and was going to bring us to the next level. I’ve been championing and singing Des’s praises since he got here but he ain’t playing and I think it’s easy as titans fans to just want to cling to any form of hope. By Messiah I mean it’s always been a new coach coming in to finally get us to click and not make the same mistakes as every year be that the coach can unlock the potential and we finally start winning games we should and not fading out and melting down.

It’s still the same roster pretty much and as Des has already said if we can get the best out of every player then we are up there. I just worry this roster has the same dumb mistakes, boneheaded plays and panic that I’m not going to go into this season with any hope other then we are better then last year and we see Des’s practices start to show through in the team. I’m that jaded with the last few years that I’m setting the bar at rock bottom so the only way is up

[T0ken]

Thought we'd at least get a season without this stuff starting up again but what can you do with this club. I'm not fussed about the situation but the fact it could be another media blow up that we don't need is so stupid. I'd rather the club just be honest when the announcements are made, All this stuff coming out after these announcements that jerk themselves off and get everyone excited then some big clause seems to come out.

Until the club kiss the ring (ie feed them inside mail like the raiders do) they will always use us to project a shambling image for engagement bait

The way des told the fox journos to get stuffed at the press conference tells me there’s still bad blood there and we won’t be getting away from the spotlight in any time soon

[MaroonTitan]

Yep. As Steve Bannon (consultant to News Ltd & Fox Corp) says, "flood the zone with sh!t". Then lies have to be corrected and whammo - you've got conflict to drive the algorithms. Next thing you know, everyone is repeating the lie, whether they agree with it or not.

While the story may have some truth to it, T0kes is right. They hate us. But Des does siege mentality better than anyone. The only good thing about Manly is that they have that sign, "Manly hates you too". If we stick together, we can play that game.

Do your worst mofos! We're ready and expect nothing less.

[Cowabunga]

Like what WD highlighted in the article, They have zero idea what's going on but saw the nrl tracker which was a surprise to me knowing their integrity.

The truth could be anywhere from Fifita trying to get a half here and willing to sacrifice a bit of wage and re-negotiate to him holding us to ransom because he doesn't want to work hard or some other BS.... There's plenty of good and bad reasons for them to be there. I think he's proven he's trustworthy and at least it's all sorted by round 10 if it gets messy.

The 100% truth is there's a PO for Fifita but he also just re-signed 3 months ago till 2026 so who knows what this actually means, Same with Tinos because I don't think Matty Johns would be getting nearly emotional when he talks about Tino re-signing with us and saying it's a story that Tino needs to tell one day....

Our club has been doing well in every other position, It's not a great look this stuff but I have to assume there's more to it. Personally I think the board, Watts and Mitchell have done a great job for while now, I think we've nailed every single move lately personally.

I got faith however dumbly placed it may be. There would be way more details besides what's out there if this meant anything imo.

[Titanic]

And regarding Des v Media (I do feel that’s largely Fox in fact), I hope he continues to put snide whippersnappers like the PBs in their place. I don’t care what he says but I’ll back Des’ dojo against anything CM can offer. Who heard Badel squeak in the background “and I’ll be here all year” that’s bread and butter for Hasler.

[Whats Doing]

Just to be clear, the article was written by Brent Read and Michael Carayannis.

[Cowabunga]

Watching them both on 360 this year has lost a lot of credibility for them... MC constantly talks about trading Tino or more to the Dragons for Hunt due to being a fan of Dragons, SEND MO AND JC or some **** is what he always pushes.. Ready has been trash lately to. Both talk about trading players like it's an actual thing constantly and they're two of the better ones.

Luai was 100% right with what he did calling out MC who I think is fine on ABC but has gotten wild on 360 like Ready who got cut from 9 because he didn't have enough ****ty takes apparently, Wonder why he's hunting these stories now??? He's also admitted to having issues with Des in a podcast around when he got made coach happened.

Rats....

Rant over.

[Hail Sezer]

We don’t hear of player power at the winning clubs but we do at losing clubs. We had our own issues around Carty, then during Neil Henry’s time and Holbrook obviously. The answer is sign or bugger-off. I will repeat myself and state if DF believes Holbrook is a better option for his development than Hasler then it’s either what does he know that we don’t or it’s see ya later.

And for a club that is so tight-lipped, where did the detail come from.

It came from NRL.com, T. The most publicly available NRL information on the internet.

That’s how stupid this entire thing is. The journos have read the most recent article with updated player lists and acted like they’ve cracked some secret detail, because they know it sets off the fanbase. And fair enough - that’s their job and it gets clicks.

Yes its a PO. No, it doesn’t mean Fifita is a free agent. No, it doesn’t necessarily mean Fifita gets to choose every year if he stays or goes. PO’s can be more than just that and for example can give players options to activate salary clauses etc. I’m not saying this is the case; nor do I know - but it needs to be considered.

Yes, the fact it’s there brings negative media attention, speculation, and that in itself is destabilising. Like everyone else I’d prefer if it wasn’t there at all. But I don’t think it’s as bad or critical as it’s being made out to be, and I wouldn’t get too carried away with what’s being written.

Remember these same journos wrote that Canberra had offered Fifita a contract during the last fiasco. That never happened because he wasn’t a free agent. Nor was Tino. The clauses were never activated.

[Cowabunga]

I'm pretty sure two of the top 4 teams this year have publicly had two of their main players want to leave, I also saw them go from being trash to good in one year under coaching with pretty much the same teams (Broncos and Warriors) We also beat Storm who were 3rd.

Everyone has a right to pessimistic amd I can't blame ya'llI think this team can change a lot of how they've played considering they're the youngest team with the best talent. We're talking players who have never had a different coach besides Holbrook or Brennan if you're a part of our local juniors. I trust Des with them more then I do Holbrook or any of the others who came through coaching.

I don't blame anyone for being pessimistic but I'd rather go the positive route, We've never done this picking a coach who's actually won a premiership.... None of our coaches are have been close to Des no matter what was said at the time.

[Titanic]

Ok guys, in my case I carry a personal vendetta, which I will take to the grave, against News Ltd in their various guises, including their latest syndicated iteration “this masthead”. 360 is a prefabricated fan tease and the Fox “team” all read from the playbook handed down to them. It became very apparent towards the end of year that Gordie was toeing the News Ltd line and the independent voices had been muzzled.

@WD yes of course but my reference to Badel had nothing to do with the DF article but rather Badel trying to intimidate Hasler during the dojo presser. Des will be looking for him now and it will make great entertainment.

And fair enough HS but I am not as accepting as you with regards to Holbrook’s intentions. My old man cynicism smells a vindictive rat. DF and the Chooks could be a fit.