Fans to turn up heat on Titans
ABOUT 200 passionate fans are expected to pepper Titans officials with questions on the axing of coach Neil Henry and imminent sale of the Gold Coast franchise at a member forum tonight.
CEO Graham Annesley and former board members Rebecca Frizelle and Darryl Kelly will address members, who have been asked to submit questions for the event at Griffith University tonight.
Annesley said there had been great interest in the meeting and while he expected it to be a passionate affair, especially given recent events, he did not expect a fiery crowd.
“Members are passionate about the club,” he said. “I’m not expecting it to be volatile.
“(The meeting) wasn’t called by the members, it was called by us and it’s a way of just giving them feedback basically, on a whole range of issues, not just recent issues but a whole range of issues.”
Former chair Frizelle and Kelly, who have both stepped down from the Titans board due to their part in the Kelly consortium’s plan to buy the club from the NRL, will attend the meeting as guests.
“They’re not attending as board members but they’re attending because some of the issues have obviously played out during the course of the year,” Annesley said.
“They’re attending to answer in their capacity as former board members.”
Annesley said whether the pair would answer questions on their bid to buy the club was “a matter for them”.
“The issue of the sale of the club will no doubt come up,” he said. “But what they intend to say and what they are prepared to share, I’m not sure.”
Longtime Titans member Lee Dungey welcomed the chance to hear from club officials and said members had several questions about the season and the way forward under new owners.
“The two (big) things are obviously the ownership and the NRL sale and the coach,” Dungey said.
“Those two things would be the top of the pops.
“I think a lot of people, on social (media) and everywhere have been scathing of the club and how they handled Neil Henry’s sacking.
“From the outside looking in it looked like the board got backed into a corner …. It looked like the corporates were holding something over their head with Hayne talking about leaving.
“I think a lot of people were disappointed with that and how they handled it.
“I’m sure everyone would like to have their time again.
“But that’s done now, so I think everyone’s just hoping they choose wisely and get the right coach.”