Peats signs to stay with Titans until 2020

THE Gold Coast Titans have been handed a boost before tonight’s clash with the Sharks, with NSW hooker Nathan Peats signing a three-year contract extension with the club.

Peats, 26, joined the Titans midway through last season after being forced out of Parramatta due to the Eels’ salary cap breaches.

The Titans confirmed yesterday it had tied up Peats until the end of 2020.

The hooker has played 21 games for the Titans in his 110-match NRL career.

“It’s great to have my future sorted here at the Titans,” Peats said in a club statement.

“It’s been a big year but with everything now sorted, I’m looking forward to focusing on the remainder of this season and my future here with the Titans.”

Coach Neil Henry said he was happy to have Peats locked in for the next three years.

“Nathan has developed as a player and that has shown with his NSW selection this year,” Henry said.

“He is one of those players that his teammates want to play with and he always plays with plenty of passion and commitment.”

Henry said Peats and fellow NSW star Jarryd Hayne and Queensland forward Jarrod Wallace can help lift the Titans to an unlikely finals place.

The Titans are 14th on the ladder, still a chance to make finals.

“We’re not writing off this year,” Henry said. “But we’re going to need to be at our best.”

He said the Origin trio were “all ready to go” against the Sharks.

Cronulla’s Origin stars Valentine Holmes, James Maloney, Jack Bird and Wade Graham trained yesterday and are set to play, and the club hoped Andrew Fifita would join the side after staying in Sydney for the birth of his child.