Mates join forces
TITANS recruit Mitch Rein is hoping he can channel some of the habits that have made childhood mate Ali Day the leading ironman in the country as he chases another chance at his NRL dream.
As revealed in the Bulletin last month, Gold Coast had been negotiating with Rein and announced yesterday they had signed the 27-yearold utility for 2018.
Rein was part of new Titans coach Garth Brennan’s Intrust Super Cup premiership-winning side at Penrith last season and the mentor believes the hooker is too good a player to be outside an NRL system.
But with NSW Origin hooker Nathan Peats and local product Karl Lawton already on the Titans’ books, Rein could face a tough task adding to his 137 NRL caps.
“(Peats) is a great player, whatever my role is in the team, I just want to get in there somewhere,” he said.
“At every club there’s competition for spots. Obviously that’s his spot there, he’s an Origin player but I think I can offer something different that he can’t.
“I couldn’t imagine he’d be too happy (about sharing the role). It’s his spot. I’ll be doing everything I can just to get into the 17 somewhere, that’s just the goal.
“I didn’t come up here to play reserve grade, I came up here because I wanted to play in the NRL.”
He has a great ally as he attacks the challenge though, having moved in with fellow Kiama product Day, who knows a thing or two about climbing sporting mountains.
Day – who won Round 2 of the Nutri-Grain ironman series at the weekend as Rein was moving into his house – believes the bloke he has known since the pair was five, is a great acquisition for the Titans.
“It’s just really cool and special that we’ve ended up in the same spot,” Day said.
“Hopefully I can teach him a thing or two and I know he’ll be able to teach me a thing or two as well.
“I know they’re two completely different sports but I know exactly what he’s going through and he knows exactly what I’m going through.”
Rein too is thrilled at reuniting with his mate, a renowned hard trainer.
“He’s just my mate from Kiama that I grew up with when it all comes down to it, but to see what he does dayin, day-out now is pretty cool,” Rein said.
While the challenges of team and individual sports are different, Rein will take inspiration from Day and his efforts to establish himself as a star of the surf.