Gold Coast Titans

Formation

The beginnings of a Gold Coast team's bid to return to the National Rugby League began when the Australian Rugby League decided to remove the financially successful Gold Coast Chargers from the National Rugby League at the end of the 1998 Season. The ARL wanted to have a second major team based in Brisbane and believed the best way to achieve this was by removing the Gold Coast team from the competition. The attempt to launch a second Brisbane team failed and in 1999, Michael Searle, former Gold Coast Chargers player and Managing Director of International Sports Australia, formed a Gold Coast Bid Team. The team included former Chargers boss Paul Broughton and was labelled as "The Gold Coast Consortium" by the media. The board was constantly active in lobbying the NRL to both expand the competition and consider the Gold Coast’s bid for inclusion. It was successful in organising pre-season NRL trial matches to be hosted on the Gold Coast and with average attendances of over 16,000, and peak attendances topping 20,000, the popularity of rugby league on the Coast was clear.

I firmly believe rugby league should be looking to expand. The Gold Coast area is growing at a phenomenal rate. There are 89 rugby league teams in Gold Coast primary schools and 59 teams in Gold Coast high schools representing about 2,300 young players. That's just schoolboys.

If the catchment area includes the region from South Brisbane to Byron Bay in northern NSW, then it covers a rugby league heartland starving for recognition. These areas would only blossom even more if the young players had a senior team in the NRL competition to which they could aspire.

South-east Queensland needs another NRL team desperately and for a whole host of reasons.

— Phil Gould, 21 December 2003^[2]

In August 2004, the NRL rejected Michael Searle's bid for re-adding a Gold Coast team.^[3] However, later, during an episode of Nine Network's The NRL Footy Show, the "Gold Coast Consortium" announced their team name and jersey to the public from the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. Initially the team was to be named the Gold Coast Dolphins, with the team colours to be white, jade and orange. While the Dolphins moniker was popular among many, the heavyweight Brisbane Queensland Cup side the Redcliffe Dolphins saw it as a threat for any prospect of entering the NRL they had, and as a result threatened severe legal action if the Gold Coast used the Dolphins name. Midway through that year the National Rugby League announced that after viewing submissions from the Gold Coast Dolphins, the Central Coast Bears and the Wellington Orcas, there would not be a 16th team included in the 2006 NRL competition. Reasons given to the Gold Coast was the National Rugby Leagues concern over the quality and capacity of their homeground, Carrara Stadium, which is an oval and only seats 16,000 (although it has been known to fit in 23,000 after minor redevelopment).

Although their bid was knocked back, the consortium continued to push heavily in 2005 for a Gold Coast NRL team, changing the entry year to 2007. The Gold Coast received a massive boost when the Queensland Government announced they would spend A$100 million on a new, 25,000-seat rectangular stadium in Robina for the Gold Coast should they be accepted into the 2007 competition. The stadium would not be completed until early 2008 yet the promise of a new first-class facility was enough for the NRL to accept the Gold Coasts bid and on 27 May 2005, NRL CEO David Gallop announced that the Gold Coast franchise would be the 16th team in the 2007 NRL season.

In the time since the Gold Coast was admitted, the Titans completed a vigorous recruitment drive, they announced the signing of Sydney Roosters assistant coach John Cartwright as the Titans first head-coach and successfully signed contracts with established players such as Dally M Medal winner Preston Campbell, Queensland & Australian representative Scott Prince, New South Wales & Australian representative Luke Bailey and enticing former league player Mat Rogers back from rugby union.

2007–2008 - Laying the foundations

In February 2007, the Titans played their historic first game in a trial against the previous season's Minor-Premiers and Grand Finalists Melbourne Storm, previously the newest club in the League (apart from the merged teams). They were beaten in the club's first hit-out but over the following weeks, Cartwright fielded his full strength team in two other pre-season trials, winning 22–10 over the Parramatta Eels for the club's first victory. The following week in the team first played in front of their home fans on the Gold Coast, they ran out 28–6 winners over the Penrith Panthers. Although merely trial matches, the signs were positive for the Titans' debut season to come.

The Titans played their first official match in Round 1 of the 2007 NRL season against the St George Illawarra Dragons. Their first game was moved from their home ground, Carrara Stadium, to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane due to the huge demand of fans eager to see the new Gold Coast outfit in action, and on 18 March 2007, in front of over 42,000 people they made their debut. Gold Coast performed admirably but after falling 14 points behind in the second half 20–6 they couldn't manage a full comeback losing a tight match 20–18. Former Queensland State of Origin winger Chris Walker, who had been released by Melbourne Storm due to off-field troubles in 2006, started his rugby league comeback scoring two tries and two conversions for a 14-point haul for the Titans.

The close loss to the Dragons wouldn't last long in the memories of Titans fans as a week later the Gold Coast franchise recorded their first official victory in another tight match, winning 18–16 against the Cronulla Sharks at home. The start of the season saw the Titans only manage four wins in the first ten rounds but a mid-season five-week-long winning streak of four wins and a bye saw the Titans sitting in the top four at the conclusion of Round 15. The streak was ended in a poor 22–6 loss against the New Zealand Warriors at home, then they slumped to a 5-match losing streak which included a golden point loss to the Brisbane Broncos in Round 17 and a 56–10 loss at the hands of the Canberra Raiders in Round 18. The Titans wouldn't register another win until Round 21, but by then they had already slipped to 11th position and needed to obtain maximum points from the final four rounds to confirm a spot in the finals in their maiden season. The side only managed one win from the final four matches, however, missing out on the finals. In the final round, a 50–6 thrashing at the hands of [Melbourne Storm] ended the Titans' debut season on somewhat of a sour note, with the young Gold Coast franchise finishing the season in 12th position with 10 wins, 14 losses and a bye for 22 competition points.

Despite having an outdated home ground (Carrara Stadium) as they waited for their new stadium (Skilled Park) to be completed, the Titans had the second-highest average attendance of all NRL clubs for 2007.^[4]

At the end of 2007 Luke Bailey and Anthony Laffranchi were named co-winners of the club's inaugural Paul Broughton Medal for best and fairest player of the season.^[5]

In their debut season, the Gold Coast club had turned over $16 million.^[6]

The 2008 NRL season was the Titans' second in the National Rugby League. A major boost for the Titans was the signing of past Queensland representative Ashley Harrison from the Sydney Roosters.

The Titans played their first official match at their new Stadium, Skilled Park, against the North Queensland Cowboys with the final score being 36–18. Rookie Jordan Atkins became only the second person in the history of Australian rugby league to score four tries on debut, alongside Canterbury's Tony Nash in 1942. The sellout 26,974-strong crowd assisted the Titans in firmly establishing that they were a force to be reckoned with in 2008.

The club went on to hit top place on the NRL ladder for the first time after round 6. They managed to maintain top spot on the ladder all the way until round 11, when a loss to Wests Tigers saw them forfeit top spot to the Sydney Roosters, who led in points differential. At the conclusion of Round 14, the Titans were equal first on points, fourth on points differential, employing a perfect home record for inspiration. Despite facing a tough home stretch, the Titans placed admirably in their pursuit of an inaugural finals campaign.

One of the Titans' strongest points in 2008 was the form of halfback Scott Prince, who earned selection for State of Origin. However early in Game 3, his arm was broken, putting him on the sideline for the season. Subsequently, the Titans lost four straight games.

They finished their season at 13th on the NRL ladder.

This year their turnover increased to $22 million and the club posted a $1.5m profit.

2009–2010 - First finals appearance

The Titans secured four new signings for the 2009 season in Sam Tagataese, Matthew White, Jackson Nicolau and Raiders speedster William Zillman.

Similar to the Titans previous seasons, they find themselves on top of the competition ladder after six rounds sitting on ten premiership points alongside their rivals the Brisbane Broncos. Early victories against the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Melbourne Storm away from home without skipper Scott Prince, silenced many of their critics who believed they could not win away from the holiday strip or without their veteran halfback.

Many of the Titans NYC side made their debut and turned into regular first-graders, such as Esi Tonga, David Mead and Kevin Gordon. Kayne Lawton, Bodene Thompson and Selasi Berdie also made their NRL debut.

The club's most successful season so far saw them finish in 3rd position, which was in 2009. They were 2 points behind the competition front-runners St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Canterbury Bulldogs. In the 2009 finals series, they lost their qualifying final 40-32 against the Brisbane Broncos, then lost the semi-final 27-2 against the Parramatta Eels.

The Titans signed five new players for the 2010 season in Joe Tomane, Marshall Chalk, Riley Brown, Clinton Toopi, Greg Bird and Steve Michaels

The Titans lost a number of players for the 2010 season, including Ben Jeffery, Brenton Bowen, Chris Walker, Daniel Conn, Brett Delaney and Siosaia Vave.

For the second year in succession the Titans qualified for the finals, finishing 4th and thereby earning a home qualifying final against the fifth-placed New Zealand Warriors. The Titans' 28-16 win, coupled with losses for two other top four teams, meant that the Titans earned the week off and a right to host a preliminary final at the larger Suncorp Stadium, which turned out to be its 100th ever premiership match. The Titans lost to the resurgent Sydney Roosters, 32-6, ending their season one week short of the Grand Final. After 2010 the Titans finished up 4th overall in the 2010 NRL season, with Mat Rogers retiring at the conclusion of the season.

2011–2012 - The wooden spoon and player turnover

During the off-season the Titans lost inspirational five-eighth Mat Rogers to retirement.

To date the Titans have recorded their worst ever start to a season, losing four of their first five matches against St. George Illawarra, Melbourne, the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland by scorelines of 16–25, 16–38, 10–12 and 16–20 respectively. They never recovered from their horror start to the year only winning 6 games all year which is their worst season to date finishing on 16 points and receiving the wooden spoon.

The Titans signed seven new players for the 2012 season including former Australian and NSW representative Jamal Idris and current QLD representative Nate Myles former Cronulla Sharks prop Luke Douglas They also lost key foundation players such as Preston Campbell, Anthony Laffranchi, Nathan Friend and Mat Rogers.

The club started their 2012 with an impressive 18-0 win over the North Queensland Cowboys away from home. However, the success was very short lived, losing the next 5 in a row, 4 of which were at home. Round 7 saw Aidan Sezer make his NRL Debut Against the Manly Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval. The Titans produced a 30-12 upset, with Sezer scoring in his debut. Debutant for the Titans Jamal Idris coughing up 2 tries in the round 7 match up. The next two games were losses.

From rounds 10-21, the Titans managed a mid season revival. In the period, the club only lost three times, with seven wins and two byes. The revival was not enough to push them into the finals, as they lost 4 of their last 5 matches.

2013–2014 - Promising starts, mid-season fadeouts and salary cap breach

The Titans only signed a handful of players for the 2013 season, most notably Australian and Queensland representative Dave Taylor, as well as controversial halfback Albert Kelly, who had been sacked from his previous 2 clubs. The club, however, also lost their captain Scott Prince to the Brisbane Broncos.

The club managed to win 4 of their first 6 matches to put themselves in the top 8. They then lost consecutive matches against the Newcastle Knights and the New Zealand Warriors. Since then, the club and won another 4 from their next 6, to put them at 5th on the ladder. An injury to form centre Jamal Idris for the rest of the season derailed their promising campaign. The club their next 4 matches, seeing them slide outside the top 8. Prop Ryan James hit a purple patch of form in the last 6 rounds. However, the club only managed to win 3 of these 6 games, which wasn't enough to push them inside the top 8. The Titans finished on 26 points, 2 points behind the 8th placed North Queensland Cowboys

During the season, the Gold Coast Titans managed to break their biggest ever winning margin (heading into the season) 3 times. Their biggest ever win before 2013 was by 26 points against the Parramatta Eels back in 2007. In 2013, the club managed a 36-point win over the Canberra Raiders, a 38-point win over the Parramatta Eels, and a 28-point win over the Wests Tigers. Another positive to come out of the season was the new halves pairing of Albert Kelly and Aiden Sezer, who played the majority of the season alongside one another.

Before the 2014 season started, the Gold Coast Titans lost marquee centre Jamal Idris to the Penrith Panthers. The centre left the club only 2 years into his 5-year contract, because he wanted to be closer to his family in Sydney. The Titans didn't sign any marquee players for the 2014 season, but did pick up Penrith's centre Brad Tighe, Melbourne utility Maurice Blair, and the Bulldog's forward Paul Carter. One of the Titan's foundation players, Luke O'Dwyer, also retired.

The beginning of the 2014 season look promising for the Titans. The club managed to win 5 of their first 6 games, putting them at outright 1st on the NRL ladder. This period included a 4-game winning streak, including a nail biting Queensland derby against the Brisbane Broncos, and a controversial 2-point win over the Melbourne Storm in Melbourne. In rounds 7 and 8, the club recorded a 2-point loss to the Panthers, and a 14-point win over the Wests Tigers in Sydney. However, the promising start to the year ended there. The club then suffered 6 straight losses, 5 of which were at their home ground. Round 17 saw the Titans record their first win in over 2 months, with an ugly 4-point win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs. However, the club then suffered a defeat to the out of form Canberra Raiders on the Gold Coast. In round 19, the Titans travelled to Newcastle for the cornerstone match in the 'Rise for Alex Round'. The Titans managed to produce a 24-6 upset win. Since then, however, the club has lost another 6 straight games, including a dismal 42-0 loss to the New Zealand Warriors. This would be the first time the club has been held to nil since their inception in 2007.

In round 24, prop Luke Douglas would miss his first ever game since his debut in 2006, after being suspended as a result of the 2011 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks supplements scandal. His record streak was halted at 215 consecutive games.

From round 11 to round 20, David Taylor produced his best patch of form since joining the club. This included 5 tries in 6 games, and also earned him a recall into the Queensland State of Origin team for games 2 and 3 of the 2014 series. Halfback Albert Kelly also had a promising start to the season, scoring 5 tries in the opening 5 games, 4 of which were intercept tries. Foundation coach John Cartwright would coach his last game in round 22, after announcing he would be standing down from the role. Assistant coach Neil Henry will coach the club for the remaining 4 rounds.

The Titans were able to end the difficult year on a high upsetting the Bulldogs who went on the play in the grand final at home 19-18.

After an investigation by the NRL into the Titans and five other clubs (Brisbane Broncos, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Newcastle Knights and Sydney Roosters), the Titans were fined AU$300,000.

2015–2016 - NRL takeover; Return to the Finals

On 24 February, the club was placed into voluntary administration and its licence was transferred to the NRL in February 2015.

One day before the 2015 NRL season kicked off, Daly Cherry-Evans announced he would join the club on a four-year deal starting from 2016, with the deal reported to be worth over $1 million a season. Titans Chief Executive Officer, Graham Annesley, stated "I think this signing sends a positive sign to the rugby league world that this club does have a future and it can attract quality players and it can turn itself around." ^[7] However, on 3 June 2015, Cherry-Evans reneged his deal with the Titans, and re-signed with the Manly Sea Eagles.^[8]

After the money from Cherry-Evans' contract was freed up, due to him no longer joining the club for the 2016 season and beyond, the Titans signed a handful of players during the off-season. Signings included halves Tyrone Roberts and Ashley Taylor from the Newcastle Knights and Brisbane Broncos respectively, former Titans hooker Nathan Friend from the New Zealand Warriors, props David Shillington and Zeb Taia from the Canberra Raiders and Catalans Dragons, and premiership winning second-rower Chris McQueen from the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

The first half of the Titans' season was shaky, having won six games, and also losing six games, sitting in the Top 8 by the end of Round 13. During this time, the Titans added New Zealand Warriors centre Konrad Hurrell to their roster, as well as former Parramatta hooker Nathan Peats, who was forced out of his former club due to the club's ongoing salary cap scandal. On the 3rd of August, the club ultimately made up for the reneging of Daly Cherry Evans by signing 2 time Dally M medal winner and cross code superstar Jarryd Hayne,^[9] who was available to play for the club immediately and was signed until 2017. By Round 26's end, the Titans won 11 games, drew 1 and lost 12, earning 27 premiership points in total. This allowed the Titans to return to the NRL Finals for the first time since 2010, after the 9th placed Wests Tigers lost 52-10 to the Canberra Raiders. The Titans played the Brisbane Broncos in the controversial Elimination semi final, which featured many questionable refereeing decisions on September 10 and were knocked out 44-28, ending their 2016 season.

2017 was a year to forget for Gold Coast as they finished 15th on the table at the end of the season. Star recruit Kevin Proctor was stripped of his co-captaincy responsibilities in May after allegations relating to drug use whilst in camp with The Kiwis and Hayne's ankle injury and shifting between fullback and centre became a distraction more than a solution. There was also the on-going feud between coach Neil Henry and Hayne which resulted in Henry's tenure coming to an end after their Round 24 loss to Parramatta ^[10].

On 18 October 2017, Gold Coast appointed Garth Brennan as their new coach. At the end of 2017, Jarryd Hayne left the club to rejoin Parramatta for the 2018 season ending one of the most turbulent times in the clubs history ^[11][12].

Before the 2018 NRL season began most experts predicted Gold Coast to be contending for the wooden spoon come seasons end but the club shocked many critics after winning 3 of their first 5 matches. Gold Coast then went on an inconsistent run of form and ended finishing 14th on the table at the end of the regular season.^[13]

Gains

• Brenko Lee Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs
• Bryce Cartwright Penrith Panthers
• Lelani Latu Penrith Panthers
• Jack Stockwell Newcastle Knights
• Will Matthews St George Dragons
• Brendan Elliot Newcastle Knights
• Jai Whitbread Brisbane Broncos
• Jai Arrow Brisbane Broncos
• Michael Gordon Sydney Roosters
• Mitch Rein Penrith Panthers

Losses

• Dan Sarginson (Wigan Warriors) December 2017^[14]
• Eddy Pettybourne (Toulouse Olympique) December 2017
• Ben Nakubuwai (Salford Red Devils) November 2017^[15]
• Paterika Vaivai (Leigh Centurions) October 2017^[16]
• Tyrone Roberts (Warrington Wolves) October 2017^[17]
• Jarryd Hayne (Parramatta Eels) November 2017
• Leivaha Pulu (New Zealand Warriors) November 2017
• Agnatius Paasi (New Zealand Warriors) November 2017
• Chris McQueen (Wests Tigers) November 2017
• Nathaniel Peteru (Leeds Rhinos) September 2017^[18]
• John Olive (Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs) January 2018
• William Zillman Retired February 2018
• Daniel Vidot Retired December 2017
• Joe Greenwood (Wigan Warriors) June 2018

Representative players

Player records

Club

• Premierships: Nil
• Finals series: 2009, 2010, 2016

Individual

The Paul Broughton Medal, a 400 gram pure titanium medal, is awarded annually to the Titans' best and fairest player for the season.^[19] 'The Preston' is named in honour of foundation player Preston Campbell and is presented to the player who truly embodies what it is to be a Titan.

Manufacturers

• 2007–2009: Reebok
• 2010–2013: Adidas
• 2014–2016: BLK
• 2017–present: Classic

Naming rights

• 2007-2012: Jetstar
• 2013–2014: iSelect
• 2015–2017: Aquis
• 2018-present TFH Hire

Chest sponsors

• 2007–2011: Jetstar
• 2012–2014: iSelect
• 2015–present: Aquis

Back sponsors

• 2007–2009: Marina Quays (Top) / Australian Gas & Power (Bottom)
• 2010–2011: Australian Gas & Power (Top) / ThyssenKrupp Elevator (Bottom)
• 2012: iSelect (Top) / Learn Earn Legend (Bottom)
• 2013: Illuminated Water (Top) / Bet Ezy (Bottom)
• 2014: Global Road Technology (Top) / Bet Ezy (Bottom)
• 2015: Jabbry.com
• 2016–present: TripADeal.com.au

Sleeve sponsors

• 2007–2010: ABC Brick Sales
• 2011–2014: Coral Homes
• 2016: Ladbrokes
• 2017–present: TripADeal.com.au

Shorts sponsors

• 2007: DTBS (Front) / Harvey Norman (Back)
• 2008–2011: Professional Investment Services (Front) / Harvey Norman (Back)
• 2012: Audi Centre Gold Coast (Home) / Jetstar (Away) / Harvey Norman (Back)
• 2013–2014: Hyundai (Front) / Zarraffas Coffee (Back)
• 2015–present: LEDified (Back)