Coaching hopefuls fight for Titans job
THREE years after they battled for the NRL State Championship, Jason Demetriou and Garth Brennan are again going head-to-head in the race for the Titans post.
The Bulletin understands a change in landscape that a week ago had Michael Maguire in the lead for the role has flipped to mean Broncos assistant Demetriou and Penrith NSW Cup mentor Brennan now head the queue.
Brennan is understood to hold the edge and Demetriou’s camp is resigned to finishing a narrow runner-up.
Maguire, 43, did not return calls from the Bulletin yesterday and it’s understood he has slipped behind the two rookie mentors, in part by his decision to wait for Gold Coast to confirm new owners.
A call on which consortium will buy the Titans off the NRL is hoped to be made by the end of the month.
One part of the puzzle is the fact Demetriou and Brennan are cheaper options for the financially hamstrung club, though both boast impressive resumes and have influential backers.
The pair first faced off in the 2014 NRL State Championship clash between Demetriou’s QCup champions the Northern Pride and Brennan’s NSW Cup-winning Panthers. Coincidentally that match was a curtain-raiser to Maguire leading the Rabbitohs to the NRL premiership.
A preferred Titans candidate is set to be tabled by the four-person panel as early as today, with Ben and Shane Walker – currently in Hawaii – among the contenders set to learn their fate.
On paper the battle between Demetriou and Brennan is a toss of the coin given both have won respective state titles as well as the NRL State Champsionship.
The assistant coaching stints of 41-year-old Demetriou at North Queensland (2015), St George Illawarra (2016) and Brisbane (2017) means he has the backing of several superstar players.
Brennan, though, can lean on the support of Penrith supremo Phil Gould and has reportedly promised to help keep halfback Ash Taylor on the Gold Coast in the face of a push from the Broncos.
Asked about the coaching situation, Titans CEO Graham Annesley yesterday said: I don’t think we’re too far away. It’s not there yet and we’re still in negotiations.
“However it’s my expectation that we hope to have news in the next few days.”
Last month Brennan outlined his coaching hopes.
“I’ve done my time. My CV and record shows I’m ready for the NRL,” he said.