Titans coach to size up list
HE doesn’t officially put his feet under the desk at the Titans until next month but Garth Brennan is already hard at work, meeting officials yesterday to ensure his side will hit the ground running in the pre-season.
Brennan met chief operating officer Tony Mestrov yesterday to run his eye over the Titans list for 2018.
Mestrov and Titans officials have been working on recruitment and retention since the departure of former coach Neil Henry, all but completing the top 30 for next season.
But it’s understood Brennan will have the final say on the last few spots in his squad, as well as likely targets for the cash freed up by Tyrone Roberts’ move to Warrington and the likely departure on compassionate grounds of Agnatius Paasi.
The Titans will not launch into a spending spree though, with Brennan believing he already has a team that can compete for a top eight spot next season.
“I want to sit down and see what we need to strengthen and what we need to do and areas we need to improve,” Brennan said of finalising his playing roster.
“I do have a relationship with a number of clubs, as most coaches do. If we need to strengthen any positions, we can put some feelers out there and see what’s out there.
“We don’t need to rush into anything. If someone’s not there, we’re not going to panic.
“I think we’ve still got the nucleus of a side that we’re really excited about. If we can strengthen our roster, we’ll always be looking to do that and looking to improve.”
Brennan has relationships with several NRL players – his mentor role with Ash Taylor is expected to help the Titans resign the gun half – although he has built his career on development systems that have brought rising stars through the ranks. It will be a key plank of his Gold Coast strategy but he still understand the need to recruit strongly.
“I speak a lot about development but you still have to recruit,” he said.
“What I don’t want to do is recruit someone that’s going to block the pathways of a young kid that’s coming through in our system.
“If I’ve got an 18-year-old who’s a great five-eighth, I don’t want to go and recruit another five-eighth for four or five years and block that kid’s pathway.
“That’ll be where I look first but if I can’t find it within, then we’ll have to go out and recruit.
“But all the decisions will be made for what’s best for the Gold Coast Titans.”