Godfather’s gospel

TITANS godfather Paul Broughton will put personal differences aside to attend the club’s end-of-season awards night after revealing he hasn’t spoken to former boss Michael Searle for over five months.

In a wide-ranging and candid interview with the Bulletin, the former Titans chairman broke his silence to reveal he has no regrets about quitting his post mid-season, with the club in the midst of a financial crisis.

Broughton also declared head coach John Cartwright was the right man to lead them into 2013 but took aim at the club’s battling junior development as its biggest problem.

Broughton played an integral part in helping Searle bring an NRL team to the Gold Coast and was the club’s chairman for its first five years.

But the 82-year-old sensationally walked away from the Titans in March this year after falling out with Searle as the club buckled under multi-million-dollar debts.

Broughton and Searle haven’t spoken since he dropped the bombshell on March 28 but revealed he will attend the Titans’ gala ball on October 4 to present the Paul Broughton Medal to the player of the year.

Broughton said the decision to quit wasn’t one he made quickly.

‘‘I haven’t spoken to Michael since I resigned,’’ he said.

‘‘When you make a decision like that, disappointment has a tendency to not be as deeply imbedded.

‘‘I didn’t do it anger. I did it after I had a chance to think about it.

‘‘I hope the people of this city understand I did everything I could to make it work for them for seven years.’’

After collecting the wooden spoon last year, the Titans entered 2012 with plenty of optimism on the back of a mass recruiting spree.

But winning just two matches from their first nine and constant speculation about the club’s finances saw them become wooden spoon favourites midway through the year before missing the finals and finishing 11th.

‘‘Whilst it’s never been said, I think that (financial problems) impacted on the unity on the team,’’ Broughton said. ‘‘John’s a fine coach. He’ll lift them next year. They’re going to be full of optimism.’’

Broughton backed the signing of South Sydney forward Dave Taylor but said the forward pack was not the team’s problem.

Luke Bailey, Nate Myles, Ashley Harrison and Greg Bird already contribute to a stellar engine room and it is the club’s lack of game-breakers that is their biggest problem, according to Broughton.

‘‘The big discussions have been about the 1 (fullback), 9 (hooker) and 7 (halfback),’’ he said.

‘‘That was initiated by Melbourne when their big three (Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk) first came in.

‘‘We haven’t got a complete standout in those positions.

‘‘The top four teams have the four best fullbacks in the game.

‘‘We’ve got excellent players there (but) Scott Prince is 33 next year, the fullback (William Zillman) is an excellent player but they don’t match the (Brett) Stewarts, (Greg) Inglis . . .

‘‘Canterbury, at some time in the game their No. 1 (Ben Barba) is going to score a try.

‘‘They (the top teams) can be as patient as they like but our guys have got to work really hard (to score).’’

While the NRL team struggled this year, the Titans under-20s were woeful on their way to collecting the wooden spoon.

The Toyota Cup team conceded an astonishing 812 points at an average of 34 a week and scored just 424.

No junior player progressed to the NRL ranks this year and it followed up last year’s disappointing season where they finished third last.

‘‘I think the biggest disappointment for me was not so much the first grade, i t was our development squads,’’ Broughton said.

‘‘The 20s finished last and third-last last year. That must be a concern.

‘‘When you have to go into the marketplace and buy marquee players, it takes away from your recruitment costings. It all suffers.

‘‘It’s a concern because good players come out of winning teams.’’

Broughton backed the Titans to fire next year, declaring certainty around the club’s front office and finances would lead to better on-field form.

‘‘I believe that 2013 will be a special year,’’ he said.

‘‘There is a sense of optimism with the club now with the selling of the COE (Centre of Excellence).

‘‘That football team needs to identify with who they are, what they are, where they come from and what they stand for . . . a sense of ownership is so important to a player.’’