Titans not a dump for Gould discards
TITANS coach Garth Brennan has rubbished suggestions the Gold Coast have become a dumping ground for Phil Gould’s Penrith discards.
Brennan’s Titans will face off with Penrith at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday in a clash which could have featured a number of former Panthers in Gold Coast colours.
Upon securing his first NRL head coaching gig at the Titans, Brennan recruited three players from his former club Penrith.
Forwards Bryce Cartwright and Leilani Latu were released from their Penrith contracts to sign lucrative deals at the Gold Coast while hooker Mitch Rein was lured north on a cut-price salary.
Cartwright and Latu, whose combined salaries are worth close to $1 million-aseason, have spent most of the year languishing in the Intrust Super Cup for Tweed Heads.
Rein has proven to be an astute signing, playing all 20 games and arguably outperforming former NSW Origin hooker Nathan Peats, who is on $600,000-a-season.
Blues utility Tyrone Peachey will join the Gold Coast from Penrith next season on a three-year deal worth more than $1.5 million, a contract which may prove to be a smart signing by the Titans following his rise in
2018.
Brennan and Panthers boss Gould have a close relationship, prompting suggestions the Penrith head of football was using the Titans to offload players he no longer needed.
But Brennan said the Gold Coast’s recruitment failings were simply luck of the draw.
“You always take risks in recruiting,” he said.
“You can go through all the clubs that have invested heavily in players who haven’t aimed up. You win some, you lose some.
“The Mitch Rein one was a win, he’s been great for us. The way Tyrone Peachey is playing at the moment, that’ll hopefully be a win for us too.
“Recruitment, you can’t get them all right all the time. Rein and Michael Gordon (Roosters) have been good signings. Sometimes the negative ones take all the publicity and they forget about the good ones.”
Brennan brought Latu to the Gold Coast with the hope he could develop into a starting prop, but he struggled to produce decent minutes and has only played six NRL games.
Cartwright was last sighted in the NRL in Round 12 before his inept defensive performances eventually forced Brennan to send him to reserve grade.
Latu (2020) and Cartwright (2021) are on longterm contracts at the Titans and Brennan said he wasn’t giving up hope of them firing at the Gold Coast.
SOMETIMES THE NEGATIVE ONES TAKE ALL THE PUBLICITY AND THEY FORGET ABOUT THE GOOD ONES TITANS COACH GARTH BRENNAN