KELLY FED UP WITH TITANS
THE Titans are in turmoil with saviour Darryl Kelly revealing he could abandon plans to buy the club as pressure mounted on coach Neil Henry following the most embarrassing fortnight in the Gold Coast’s history.
The looming sale of the Titans to a privately-owned entity has clouded Henry’s future on the back of Saturday’s record 54-0 loss to the Broncos.
At the crux of Henry’s problems is a growing discontent among some players who are privately casting doubts on whether he is the right coach to lead the club.
And now Kelly is considering whether he should forge ahead with a bid to buy the franchise for a second time following the Broncos and Tigers debacles in recent weeks.
Kelly tipped more than $5 million into the Titans when saving the club from extinction in 2013, only to lose it all when the NRL assumed ownership in February 2015.
He has formulated a consortium of locals to launch a bid to buy the club from the NRL in the coming months but admitted the Gold Coast’s horrible performances have made him have second thoughts.
“I am totally disillusioned and questioning whether I should continue,” Kelly said.
“The performance of the players (was most disappointing). There was no pride at all in what they did. That’s disappointing when everyone else is working so hard.
“This side is supposed to be a better side than we had last year.”
Henry guided the Titans to a five-year drought-breaking finals appearance in 2016 and the club was tipped to be a finals contender this season.
An unprecedented injury toll rocked the Gold Coast’s start to the season, but it has been the fashion of performances in the past two weeks at home that has put Henry’s future under the microscope.
With their finals hopes on the line, the Titans fell 26-4 to the lowly Wests Tigers before the club’s biggest ever loss as Brisbane scored 10 tries in 57 minutes.
Qualifying for last year’s finals series triggered an option in Henry’s contract to extend his tenure until the end of 2018.
The NRL would be reluctant to fork out a package of up to $400,000 to part ways with Henry, however the Titans will be sold in the coming months to a private entity which would have control of financial decisions in conjunction with the club’s board.
Chief executive Graham Annesley said he was embarrassed by the team’s performance but said the club would not make knee-jerk reactions.
“I feel for our members, corporate partners and fans who invest financially and emotionally in our club. They deserve much better and I sincerely apologise to each and every one of them,” he said.