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The time is for now for the NRL to get behind the Gold Coast Titans. The Titans are in their time of need, with no major sponsor, a cocaine scandal and continued financial hardship.
Intervention is needed immediately to keep the Titans alive as they stare at potential oblivion.
The Titans aren’t the first NRL club to dealt with financial hardships. My team, the North Queensland Cowboys, experienced financial difficulty in the early years. Through News Limited, they were kept afloat until being sold to the Cowboys Leagues Club in 2007.
These days, the Cowboys are now a contender to win the premiership and are in sound financial shape relative to the other 15 NRL clubs.
The Cronulla Sharks, the resident basket case of the NRL, have also been bailed out numerous times throughout their existence. The Sharks have been given numerous second chances that the mid 90s expansion clubs would love to receive.
So, with the Sharks getting so many lifelines, it’s only fair that the Titans get one too.
For the NRL to give up the Gold Coast, it would be conceding defeat to the AFL. This would be the worst case scenario for rugby league.
To bow out of the Gold Coast would make it AFL territory by default, with local kids not having a professional league team to look up to.
Now is the time for the NRL to unite behind the Gold Coast. Nothing good can come from them leaving the competition.
Look at Melbourne – who rebounded from one of the biggest scandals in Australian sport – as an example of how a club can pick themselves back up.
Rugby league is a strong game that has taken on more adversity than other code in Australia. It is still kicking, against the odds.
The time is now for the NRL clubs to put the game first and support the Titans just like they would if another club was in dire straits. I ask Dave Smith to forget about short-term interests and support the Titans in their time of need.
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