2024 Season General Discussion Thread

[Cowabunga]

You said it best Titanic. We're all in different areas of trust and it's cool to see, noones in the wrong or right. The one thing we all can agree one is "masthead" needs to ****ing go.

The way I look it.. As Shoresy would say, We need to start hating losing over liking winning..

I trust this team to figure it out.

[Appsy]

I think we all as a collective have the gut feeling that this period for the club is either one that finally shows the world what we can achieve as a club, or if there is truly a curse on the GC for winning titles in sports. Like I don't know about everyone else, but I don't think I've been more on the edge of my seat as a fan in a long time. I can sense something big is going to happen with us. Whether its good or bad, I've no idea. But the anticipation is growing. And the frustration with the signing rumours (at least for me) is that it is happening again. Why can't for once in the clubs history, everything just aligns and go the way it needs to go?

I have full faith that both DF and Tino will stay. If they did not want to stay, they would have left when this first happened a few months ago. Everything needs to click this time. From speaking to Dessie at the members forum and from his interviews, you can tell it is now his life's mission to help the club find success and remain a competitor for years to come.

The best thing is, we don't need to rebuild. The team is there. We have 3 Origin forwards + a potential 4th in Fermor. Palasia will make a name for himself in the forward pack here on the GC.

We have AJ, who has proven himself time and time again that he can be the man for the job. Yet right on his tail is Jayden Campbell who is slowly diverting himself being known as 'Preston Campbells son' to being the first Jayden Campbell. And right on JC's tail is Keano Kini, the bright up and comer who will push for minutes in 2024.

We have the rightful rookie of the year in AKP on one wing, and the ever so reliable Sami on the other. BK is having a career renaissance and has played under dessie previously. He knows what to expect.

Then there is Verrils and Randall. One who had an injury strucken season who is a proven winner, and the other who was thought to be the dud in a trade that worked out as a win-win for both parties involved.

Foran is most likely in his final year, and Des will know how to bring the best out of him. Partnering him will be either Tanah Boyd who is coming off a career best season, or the guy who could be considered the next big thing, Tommy Weaver.

The amount of depth we still have even after those named above amazes me too. The quiet achiever in Joliffe, who is very unlucky to not be a starter due to the talent in the front row already. The younger brothers who will continue to improve in Haas & IF. The versatile Alick. The redemption artist in Clark. The ever so athletic Maumalo. The big gun in Francis. The tenured Liu. The hard hitter in Jojo. The hothead in Schoupp. The experienced Stimson. The comeback kid in Spry. Not to mention all the developmental players for 2024 who will crack the NRL one day.

This team has proven it can go toe to toe with the top teams for the majority of the game. We were outclassed early by the Broncos yet beat them when they were in over their heads. We beat the Storm in an early contest, but sadly were outmatched the second time around. We went head-to-head with both the Panthers & Warriors (even down a man for almost the whole game) and nearly pulled it off both times. We competed with the Knights yet weren't in the right headspace when playing the Sharks. We had a first half to forget and a second half that could have been against the Roosters and would have beaten the Raiders if not for a call not going the right way.

We stuck it to the Rabbitohs the best we could but fell short due to coaching techniques of the past. We showed we could beat the Eels, and nearly put them to the sword twice, only losing by a point the second time round. We fell to the Cowboys early on due to injuries but surprised them when it mattered the most to them. We downed the Sea Eagles with ease yet broke our own hearts twice against the Dolphins. We choked against the Bulldogs but undid it the second time. We were too confident against the Dragons after their bye, but a heroic send-off for Sexton helped us reignite our flair. and lastly, we beat the Tigers in convincing fashion twice this season without any doubt.

This period in my opinion is probably the most important we have ever been a part of. Not only as a club but as a fanbase. Those of us who have stuck through all the hard times, through all the potential relocations, all the low ladder finishes, all the bs behind the scenes with corporate etc. Have been patiently waiting for it all to come together. And yeah, I've spoken about missing pieces in the past, but the only missing piece now in my opinion? is belief. Belief that we can fight. Belief the team is finally where it needs to be. Belief that the coach will finally get it right. Belief that all three together can make our city united and proud, and finally bring us glory.

[MaroonTitan]

Love the passion Appsy. Great post!

[T0ken]

Draw is out

Dragons H (Sat 09/03 730)
Bye
Dog A (Sat 23/3 3pm)
Dolphins H (Sat 30/3 730pm)
Cows A (Sun 07/04 4pm)
Raiders A ( Sun 14/4 415pm)
Manly H (Sat 20/04 530pm)
Warriors A (25/04 2pm)
Storm H (Sat 04/05 530pm)
Cows H (Sun 12/05 4pm)
Knights H (magic round Sat 18/5 3pm)
Broncos A (Sun 26/05 2pm)
Bye
Rabbits H (Sat 08/06 3pm)
Tigers H (Sat 15/06 3pm)
Warriors H (Sat 22/06 3pm)
Bye
Sharks A (Fri 05/07 6pm)
Eels H (Sat 13/07 530pm)
Manly A (Sun 21/07 4pm)
Dolphins A (Sun 28/7 4pm)
Broncos H (Sat 03/08 3pm)
Sharks H (Fri 09/08 6pm)
Dragons A (Sun 18/08 2pm)
Roosters H (Sun 25/08 2pm)
Knights A (Sun 1/9 2pm)
Panthers A (Sat 7/9 730pm)

[T0ken]

Sat - 12 (3pm 6 , 530pm 3 , 730pm 3 )
Sun - 9 (2pm 4 , 4pm 4 ,6pm 1 )
Friday - 2 (6pm)
Thursday 1 (Anzac day 2pm)

3 Byes

27 rounds

[Titslover]

Bit frustrating that we use all 3 byes by r17 again, and theres only a small gap between the last 2. Other than that the draw looks solid for us purely in terms of opposition, Penrith only once and in the final round where they tend to rest players is great for us.

[Titanic]

We will be resting ours too :-)

[T0ken]

only 5 fta games again this season and its all sunday 4pm slots and the alst game of the round

on the sunny side all our home games are very good for attendace as they are weekend slots and not too late at night

edit: our anzac day game isnt even FTA wtf hahahaha

[Appsy]

17 times this upcoming season we will have a 7 day or more turn around. 1 singular 5 day turn around.

[DIEHARD]

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.

Wow that is some very interesting infomation. Thanks for posting, 5YC!. Impressive for the Titans but also Rugby League.

[DIEHARD]

The draw looks good to me, as mentioned above. Could be worse!

I'm bias here but I'm delighted that I'll get to be in Oz during some SEQLD Derby games.



Giving the NZ Warriors a home NZ team is a great step forward for the game. And long overdue. And we get picked. Delighted and hope we can be included in the future. Should be quite a moving occasion.

[DIEHARD]

B]Hey Mods[/B], 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?

Hey RavShamrock. New forum software is coming for the start of 2024. Probably around Christmas when things are slow and people are busy. We will look into ways to improve everyone's experience in the best ways. More soon.

[RavShamrock]

17 times this upcoming season we will have a 7 day or more turn around. 1 singular 5 day turn around.

That sounds amazing fortune

[Mexican titan]

Great post Appsy but despite your enthusiasm I'm concerned that these players you rave about couldn't get the job done last season. Fermor will hopefully come back strong but we still lack a half. There was an article in the paper yesterday ranking all clubs' spines and ours was in the bottom 8. Hard to argue with that assessment. Really hope I'm wrong but I've been down this track with this club so often now, I refuse to get my hopes up.

Re Fifita. I'm really over this crap and the CEO must stop signing contracts that have these clauses. I'm a bit cynical like T in that by round 10 Fifita could be going like a house on fire and clubs will chase him with bigger offers than we are paying him. Alternatively, Des will push him so much that he'll sook off and leave. The clause has been described by media as that it gives him time to decide whether he can fit in with Des' approach. Nothing to do with it - just a manager after a potential bigger payday. Not from us, I hope.

[Titanic]

The clause has been described by media as that it gives him time to decide whether he can fit in with Des' approach. Nothing to do with it - just a manager after a potential bigger payday. Not from us, I hope.

Hallelujah