HAYNE ON TOP
Titans coach’s feud with Jarryd Hayne to end with sacking
IN the end it was about saving money as much as winning football games.
The Gold Coast Titans are on the verge of sacking embattled coach Neil Henry because it costs only $400,000 to get rid of him.
If it was superstar Jarryd Hayne it would cost $1.2 million and would leave the Titans on an $8 million salary cap for 2018.
Thursday night’s match against the Parramatta Eels is likely to be Henry’s last game and his axing will be announced within 48 hours of full-time.
Hayne emerged as the winner of his power struggle with the coach after a crisis meeting on the Gold Coast yesterday afternoon.
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It was a meeting that including some fiery exchanges, according to sources.
Both blamed each other for the current predicament.
Titans officials walked out following the talks convinced that the Hayne/Henry relationship was untenable.
Sources on the Gold Coast have revealed Henry’s problems at the club – and with the player group – are not just restricted to Hayne.
There have been suggestions for some time of conflict and disagreements with other stars, including boom halfback Ash Taylor.
Henry had similar problems in his coaching days at the Cowboys in Townsville with Johnathan Thurston.
It was one of the major reasons he was axed in North Queensland.
Chief executive Graham Annesley addressed the media after the meeting on the Gold Coast yesterday.
“It’s broader than what it might appear on the surface in relation to Jarryd and Neil,” Annesley said.
This was another indication of Henry’s conflict with others in the playing group.
That if he hadn’t lost the dressing shed, he was close to losing it.
It’s understood directors made a decision at a board meeting later in the day that it was Henry who should go and not Hayne. They are due to play on Thursday night against Hayne’s former team Parramatta at ANZ Stadium, which meant there wasn’t time do anything straight away.
“We don’t want this to drag on,” Annesley told journalists.
“I think it’s well known that we do make the difficult decisions when we need to make them.”
WE DON’T WANT THIS TO DRAG ON. I THINK IT’S WELL KNOWN THAT WE DO MAKE THE DIFFICULT DECISIONS WHEN WE NEED TO MAKE THEM. TITANS CEO GRAHAM ANNESLEY