HUNT FOR NEW TITANS COACH: ‘NEVER SAY NEVER’ SAYS CARTY
Carty reveals he would love to return as Daley enters Titans talk
INAUGURAL Titans coach John Cartwright says he would love to return to the Gold Coast.
“You never say never but there is probably a few people there that wouldn’t like to see me return,” Cartwright (pictured) said as the Titans coaching saga took a new twist yesterday.
Dumped NSW Origin coach Laurie Daley’s name is on top of a short list of candidates the club wants to interview over the next fortnight.
INAUGURAL Titans coach John Cartwright says there are people at the club who would prove a roadblock to any potential thought of him returning to the top job.
Cartwright was at the helm of the Gold Coast for eight years before being axed late in 2014, with two years still left to run on his contract.
The same fate has since befallen his successor Neil Henry, who was sacked last month in a bloody and unpopular aftermath of a breakdown in relations, notably with under-fire marquee Jarryd Hayne. Henry also had another year remaining on his deal.
Among the countless names tossed up as candidates to lead the Titans forward in 2018, Cartwright has been a popular vote with fans both on social media and in a Bulletin poll.
The current Manly and NSW assistant coach gathered the second most votes in the poll, ranked only behind former Sea Eagles coach Geoff Toovey.
Cartwright offered an honest assessment of the prospect of him heading back to the Coast.
“Oh, look, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since I was there,” he told the Bulletin.
“It’s a place that I would love to get back and settle one day but it’s a tough one.
“You never say never but there is probably a few people there that wouldn’t like to see me return.”
Tensions have flared in recent months between Cartwright and Titans powerbrokers.
Cartwright was snubbed from the club’s 10-year anniversary celebrations this year and after Henry’s axing, he came out swinging about the Gold Coast board and its relative lack of football experience.
“Some of the stuff that has come out of there over the past few weeks, it’s contradicting and there seems to be a lack of leadership there,” he said at the time on Fox League’s NRL360.
Cartwright took the Titans to the semi-finals in 2009 and the preliminary final the next year.
After his departure, he headed to Townsville to join the Cowboys as an assistant coach for 2015, when North Queensland would go on to win their maiden premiership.
He has spent the past two seasons as Trent Barrett’s assistant at Manly, who were bundled out of the finals race by Penrith on Saturday night.