John Cartwright arrived on the Gold Coast last night to a titanic welcome.
"This is great, but imagine what it will be like for that first home game," said Cartwright amid the celebrations at Robina Town Centre as the Gold Coast's new NRL team was officially christened the Titans.
The club's inaugural coach had only driven into the city yesterday afternoon from Sydney with his wife and three children.
"We are all a bit emotionally drained, but this is fantastic, this is very exciting," he said.
Cartwright, the former Australian, NSW and Penrith player and more recently assistant coach at the Sydney Roosters, said he expected 'Titans' to have universal appeal.
"Actually, I really liked Dolphins. It was a good fit for where we are positioned on the coast," he said. "It will be interesting to see the reaction tomorrow.
"This is the way the game is heading, making it universally appealing ... to the women and kids and I think Titans will appeal to them especially when they see the logo."
Titans was last night branded as the Coast team's name after an exhaustive public polling process that came down to a three-way tussle between Titans, Stingers and Pirates.
Of the 49,224 votes cast by rugby league fans Titans pooled 45 per cent, Pirates 29 per cent and Stingers 26 per cent.
About 1200 people including NRL boss David Gallop, local politicians, corporate heavyweights and grassroots league fans cheered the unveiling of the Titans last night.
For Cartwright it was another major step on the road to producing a competitive team on debut in 2007.
However he said the passion that was oozing at last night's launch would be a vital ingredient for the Titan's success.
"The importance of this sort of feeling (from the fans) is huge," he said. "I have spoken to Searley (Titans managing director Michael Searle) about this. We really want this to be a people's team and we will be out in the community and the schools to create that feeling.
"In Penrith it has worked really well with the community behind the team and we want that here as well.
"There it has been the hard work in the community that has created that. You go to a home game in Penrith and it is just such an event."
Cartwright said it was also important to keep the momentum rolling sparking continued excitement surrounding the team.
"The (Titans) chant that you can hear tonight means it is a bit closer for us," he said.
"People are saying it is two years away, but for us it is 12 months and events like tonight and others we have planned will keep the vibe going."
Cartwright said his initial work on the Gold Coast would be largely 'meet and greet'.
"I just want to get out into the community and get a feel from the people and what their expectations are. I want to talk to as many people as possible."
He would not speculate on how soon the Titans would add to the seven signings the club has to date.
"It is the semis now and nobody wants to have pressure on people at that time."
But Cartwright said interest remained high in former Parramatta centre Jamie Lyon, who is playing with St Helens in the English Super league, but who remains an untouchable until the June 30, 2006, anti-tampering deadline.
"We would be interested in him," he said. "But it will come down to what Jamie wants."