BIG NAMES IN BATTLE WAR GARTH

RACING: P29-31 SURF LIFESAVING: P35 AFL: P36 SLATER STUMBLES AT PRO: P34 Besieged Brennan on a mission to avoid unwanted Titans record

PETER BADEL

GOLD Coast coach Garth Brennan admits his “neck is on the chopping board” if the Titans cannot arrest a worrying form slump, starting tomorrow night against the Warriors in Auckland.

Brennan is staring at an unwanted slice of history with the Titans arriving in New Zealand in danger of becoming the first team in Gold Coast’s 12-year history to start a campaign with four consecutive losses.

Last week’s gutsy 28-20 loss to Souths saw Gold Coast’s class of 2019 join the 2011 and 2015 outfits as the only Titans teams to launch the season with three successive defeats.

But no Titans team – not even their wooden-spoon outfit of 2011 – has ever dropped four games in the opening month of premiership.

Another loss, especially one against a Warriors team that was thumped 46-12 by Manly last week, would only amplify pressure on Brennan (pictured).

Titans powerbrokers moved to ease speculation over their rookie NRL coach by activating a 12-month option in his contract last November, extending Brennan’s tenure at the Titans until the end of 2020.

Brennan is too busy trying to deliver the Titans’ maiden win to fret over his coaching future but he is pragmatic about his situation in the ruthless, results-driven world of the NRL.

“We have to win. I am under no illusions that that’s the case,” he said.

“At the end of the day, my neck is on the chopping board.

“If the team is losing, the head coach wears it. Every NRL coach is under pressure if they don’t win NRL games.

“I’m contracted for another 18 months and I have to do the best I can to get the guys to perform.”

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