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You know, 2016 was a perfect season for the Gold Coast Titans.
This was a team in tatters, one that had just lost their star centre and their gun young playmaker was out for the season.
However the stars aligned, Ashley Taylor turned out to be the best thing since sliced bread, cap troubles forced Peats out of Parramatta, they managed to snag Konrad Hurrell, and Jarryd Hayne returned to the code mid-season.
I don’t think anyone could have imagined a real season going this well for the team that were the wooden spoon favourites this time last year.
Yet here they are, a team that has gone from strength to strength, recruiting well and it really does look like that they will make the finals once again in 2017, with a spine that includes a gun halves combination, Jarryd Hayne, and soon to be State of Origin hooker Nathan Peats.
Can this team do it again and make the eight once more? Or were they really just a big old ‘flash in the pan’? Well as a completely unqualified human I am here to tell you.
Strengths
This is one of the best young halves combination I have seen since Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran in 2011.
Kane Elgey in 2015 demonstrated the class he has showing play far beyond his years despite a few injury hiccups.
Meanwhile, while Elgey was injured in 2016 Ashley Taylor came into the Titans side as a complete rookie and helped guide them to the finals with his amazing kicking game.
With Wayne Bennett already reportedly attempting to lure him back to the Broncos’ fold, it is fair to say this kid and his halves partner have a wonderful future ahead of them.
This second row of the Titans is wonderful. Chris Mcqueen successfully reinvigorated his career last year, once again looking like the State of Origin level second rower he was in the past.
Kevin Proctor meanwhile has been a mainstay of the New Zealand side since 2012 and it isn’t hard to see why.
Jarrod Wallace is a young forward currently on the raise and Zeb Taia will provide the squad with an injection of life off of the bench.
Nathan Peats is a very, very talented dummy-half. He isn’t one of the game’s elites yet and does have issues in terms of injury but his defence and service around the ruck is top tier. There is a reason he is heavily tipped to take over Robbie Farah’s NSW No.9 jersey.
And finally, Jarryd Hayne. The two time Dally M winner carried a team into the grand final one year on his back, which just shows how much natural talent he has.
He was a little off when he first came back to the league last year, mostly because he just spent the previous year and a bit practicing and training for a different sport. However with a pre-season he should be back to his best. And his best is good enough to drag a team into the top 8.
Weaknesses
I don’t like their backline at all. John Olive is a promising young player and Hurrell finally gained consistency last year but the rest of it is average at best.
Meanwhile, Dan Sarginson is probably not going to work at all. Granted I haven’t seen much of this guy, but I want someone to name an English back that has had a decent career in Australia in the past 10 years.
Considering other backs with bigger wraps on them like Tomkins and Hardaker have failed I highly doubt Sarginson will buck that trend.
I like the forwards of this Titans team but I think it might have depth issues. With David Shillington retired they are down that one depth prop in case of injury, and if injury strikes they may suffer.
I may have praised Jarryd Hayne earlier but he does come with an asterisk. You see, he may be a great player but in a huge problem with him and his time at Parramatta is that they got too reliant on him.
The strategy of ‘chuck it to Hayne’ worked in 2009 but from then on out it didn’t do too much. It wasn’t until 2014 when Parramatta got more options in attack that they started to threaten the top 8.
So as good as Hayne is, this Titans side has to be weary of falling into the same trap, especially with their great young halves combination.
However, I do have faith in their coach and think they will avoid falling into this trap.
Summary
This is a very good squad no matter how you cut it. Their spine is great, their forwards are good and the backs are at the very least serviceable.
They are a side that demonstrated that they have the heart and spirit of an elite team in 2016. And now for 2017 they have the side of an elite team. If they can transfer that over they will be a premiership threat.
I can’t really see this team missing the 8 unless something catastrophic happens. And from there I don’t think I can see them making it far into the finals, maybe even the grand final.
However I don’t believe they will win it this year. This side needs another year of gelling before that can happen.
For a club that looked like it might be dropped by the NRL and/or purchased by the North Sydney Bears, everything is looking up.
They are finally able to attract decent players to their squad, they have a great coach and amazing facilities.
The sky is the limit for this club if they can keep their core group of young guys in the long term.
2016 finish: 8th
Predicted 2017 finish: 3rd
Transfers
Gains: Dan Sarginson, Jarrod Wallace, Kevin Proctor, Paterika Vaivai, Tyler Cornish, Daniel Vidot
Losses: Nathan Friend, David Hala, Nene Macdonald, David Mead, Cameron Cullen, Luke Douglas, Josh Hoffman, Greg Bird, Jed Cartwright, Daniel Mortimer, Brian Kelly, Matt Srama, David Shillington
Full-strength team
1. Jarryd Hayne
2. Daniel Vidot
3. John Olive
4. Konrad Hurrell
5. Anthony Don
6. Kane Elgey
7. Ashley Taylor
8. Ryan James
9. Nathan Peats
10. Leivaha Pulu
11. Chris Mcqueen
12. Kevin Proctor
13. Jarrod Wallace
14. Tyrone Roberts
15. Agnatius Paasi
16. Eddy Pettybourne
17. Zeb Taia
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