Titans give Johns’ man nod
Surprise call for coach after backing
A glowing endorsement from Matthew Johns set the path for Garth Brennan’s rise from an NRL unknown to coach of the Gold Coast Titans.
Brennan is expected to be officially unveiled as Neil Henry’s successor at the Titans today.
The Penrith Panthers reserve grade coach trumped Broncos assistant Jason Demetriou during an exhaustive two-month process following Henry’s sacking in late August.
Johns’ opinion was valued highly by former chair and prospective owner Rebecca Frizelle.
Frizelle, who currently has no formal role with the club, met with Brennan to explain her and Darryl Kelly’s plans for the Titans if their consortium is successful in its ownership bid.
Brennan and Demetriou have similar coaching resumes with their success in reserve grade competitions but the Panthers applicant held an ace up his sleeve.
Brennan has been involved with the development of some of Penrith’s rising stars, guiding the Panthers to the 2013 under-20s premiership with a team that included James Roberts, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Bryce Cartwright, now established NRL stars.
He went on to win the NSW Cup in 2014 and this year as head coach of the Panthers reserve grade team.
“When you talk to the players who’ve spent time with Garth Brennan, they all say he is a coach they enjoy turning up each day to be coached by,” said Scott Sattler, an associate of Brennan through the Panthers.
“They feel he develops them every season as a player individually.
“He’s had some good lower grade success but the players have really responded to him.”
Demetriou, an Intrust Super Cup winner with the Northern Pride, won the 2016 NSW Cup with Illawarra but has been an assistant to Paul Green (Cowboys) and Wayne Bennett (Broncos) either side of that, while Brennan has been in control of his own teams.
“He’s coming in with no baggage,” Sattler said.
“He can peel all the layers back and identify what the club stands for. He is coming in as a cleanskin and can be autonomous from day one about what he stands for.
“He’s got controlled aggression. He is very composed when he needs to be composed. He knows what emotion he needs to be in at any moment.”