Why Titans are the club with a great heart
MARCH 15, 2019
NINE players taking to the field in the Titans opening match of the NRL season this weekend sum up what the Gold Coast side has become — “a club with great heart”.
And it’s that sense of community that has positioned the Gold Coast Titans to become a club driven to give local footy stars a crack at the NRL big time.
In their round one clash tomorrow against the Canberra Raiders, the Titans have named a squad that includes nine players who grew up less than an hour’s drive from their home field at Robina.
Coast locals playing for the Gold Coast Titans. BACK ROW (L to R): Jai Arrow — Burleigh Bears — lock forward; Moeaki Fotuaika — Keebra Park High — prop forward; Jarrod Wallace — Runaway Bay Seagulls — prop forward; Ryan James — Bilambil Jets — second row; Kevin Proctor — Currumbin Eagles — second row FRONT ROW (L to R): Tyrone Roberts — Ballina Seagulls — five-eighth; Brian Kelly — Ballina Seagulls — centre; Michael Gordon — Tweed Coast Raiders — fullback; AJ Brimson — Runaway Bay Seagulls — half/fullback
Jai Arrow, Moeaki Fotuaika, Jarrod Wallace, Ryan James, Kevin Proctor, Tyrone Roberts, Brian Kelly, Michael Gordon and AJ Brimson comprise that nine among the game day team of 17 players — 13 on the field and four on the bench.
OTHER NEWS:
Restaurant busted underpaying staff $50k
‘I always had inklings’ about collapsed company
Property group targets Coast developer in takeover bid
But the Coast connection to the Titans squad also includes a number of fringe first grade players who are likely to get a run throughout the season as well.
Titans executive chairman Dennis Watt said this weekend’s line-up was a great message for juniors wanting to make it into the NRL.
Jai Arrow of the Titans is tackled during the round 24 NRL match between the Gold Coast Titans and the Melbourne Storm at Cbus Super Stadium on August 25, 2018. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
“You can make it from here, you can stay home on the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers area and fulfil your dreams to become an NRL player, without having to go to Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne,” Mr Watt said.
“To (Titans coach) Garth Brennan’s credit, it’s been a real focus since he’s taken on the coaching role and it has been reinforced even further under the new ownership.
“We’ve got a pretty extraordinary concentration of local players. It’s a tremendous message to send out to local juniors.”
Mr Watt said the money that had been saved in a new stadium deal with the State
Government was being funnelled directly into junior development.
Ryan James comes from the Bilambil Jets. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
“We brokered that new deal with the State Government and Stadiums Queensland for the hire of Cbus Stadium, so we immediately took those savings and added considerable extra investment and placed it in the development of our junior pathways,’’ he said.
“Those pathways are really strong there and we’ve seen a pretty quick turnaround in terms of creating opportunities for young talent here in the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers area.
“Whether it’s boys or girls … part of the ethos of the club is to help develop rugby league throughout the entire region.”
He said local fans had the opportunity to watch kids they had followed in junior footy playing
Michael Gordon of the Titans. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
on the big stage.
“I think there is a real joy in watching young talent come through the system,’’ he said.
“Fans can feel like part of the journey, the history of the club. It’s just great to see, quite frankly.
“It’s a club with great heart and I think the community can see that.”
Titans captain Ryan James grew up in the Northern Rivers and played his junior footy with the Bilambil Jets.
He said it showed the character and the culture of the Titans club that so many locals were in the team.
“It’s great the club is at the stage where we can produce local talent and try to retain them, rather than losing them here, there and everywhere,” James said.
“We’ve got enough talent here on the Gold Coast to have a good team.
“It’s good that players are seeing a future here on the Coast. With all the changes that have happened over the last two to three years, it’s really exciting for the club because we haven’t really had the program to really develop these local juniors.
“There’s a process in place where they can come in and train, use the facilities, like Parkwood, where kids can come in and train with the first grade squad and it’s really good to keep them a part of the club.”