Even with a variety of State of Origin stars absent, the stage was well and truly set for a cracker of a match at Cbus Super Stadium on a glorious Sunday afternoon, with the Gold Coast Titans playing host to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
Having won their last three games against the Bulldogs – who were without six of their best in James Graham, Josh Jackson, David Klemmer, Trent Hodkinson and the Morris twins – and coming off the back of an impressive victory over the Wests Tigers a week earlier, Titans fans should have been trembling with excitement and anticipation for a massive upset victory.
Led by playmaker Aiden Sezer, himself a Bulldogs junior, the Titans were able to pull off a brilliant 28-14 win after holding off an onslaught from Canterbury’s scale-breaking big men.
The Titans proceeded to show that size really doesn’t matter when it comes to rugby league in 2015, with their outside backs – particularly the notoriously quick James Roberts – burning holes in the Bulldogs’ tiring defensive line on numerous occasions.
While the Bulldogs fought hard to cover for the absence of their MCG-bound Origin players, they simply were not good enough to prevent the Titans from making yet another statement on their thoughts concerning the infamous Daly Cherry-Evans backflip.
Without doubt, it was an excellent victory, but it didn’t come without disappointment. For a crowd of only 10,645 – at least 6000 of which were in blue and white – to show up to witness such a fantastic display of rugby league speaks volumes of the tragic situation transpiring on the Gold Coast.
Similarly to the way in which the low-profile Tennessee Titans of the United States’ NFL are set to gain an identity thanks to the drafting of exciting young quarterback, Marcus Mariota, the Gold Coast’s signing of DCE finally had the club on the cusp of bringing rugby league to life for the first time on the holiday strip.
Yet due to his backflip, the Titans find themselves right back in square one – struggling to draw a decent crowd.
With DCE’s prized signature on their books for 2016, it looked as though the Gold Coast Titans were set to pull off a feat that the American competition, considered to be the model for the NRL to work towards, has long been unable to do – establish a team in the warmer, picturesque cities of the country.
Los Angeles has always been somewhat of a graveyard for NFL franchises, with the competition failing a number of times, with a fruitless Oakland Raiders’ relocation to LA being one of many failed attempts. Akin to this scenario, the NRL has also been unsuccessful in locking down a club in their own glamour city of the Gold Coast, with the Chargers not managing to survive, and now the Titans being on their last legs despite the backing of the NRL.
And so the question must be asked – does rugby league belong on the Gold Coast?
It could be argued that with such a large population on the holiday strip, the potential always remains for the Titans franchise to become a success, and withdrawing the club from the Gold Coast and relocating them elsewhere is giving the AFL’s Suns a free-kick.
Of course, relocation may well be more beneficial to the game than hoping and praying that one day the Titans become a success. In addition to Perth and another New Zealand-based club, a second Brisbane team is an absolute necessity, considering that not a single game of NRL is played in the so-called ‘heartland’ of rugby league when the Broncos have an away fixture.
But if the NFL hasn’t been able to achieve it, albeit for slightly different reasons, what hope does the NRL have?
Maybe it’s time to stop drawing comparisons to the NFL. After all, it’s a different competition based in a different environment, and the NRL’s success does not and will not stem from the same roots.
And so, I remain in the firm belief that the Titans are nothing more than a couple of marquee signings away from reinvigorating Gold Coast rugby league.
The club should be afforded the continuous backing of the NRL, and with the acquisition of a player similar to the stature of Israel Folau, the Titans should be enjoying the warmth of Surfers Paradise for many years to come.
John
Guest
Silly question really. If we are going to look at crowds then ,most Sydney clubs would be gone. However, the Gold Coast Suns only drew just over 8,000 so the Titans were pretty good.
Rob9
Roar Guru
The problem is real CC and I believe it's the most significant one facing the Titans. As I said, it will get better with the significant developments in the pipelines and the improved public transport infrastructure. But why they won't allow parking in the immediate surrounds for the time being (not to mention utilising existing parking infrastructure at Robina and a near by school which goes by unused at night) is just mind boggling.
Rob9
Roar Guru
Ben, no kids yet. While it might be great value (isn't it only a bit more than the price of a one off visit), I really fail to see how the theme parks could be significantly impacting crowds. Most being slap bang on the M1, they're not all that hard to get from Brisbane either. The fact is, all cities have other activities that have the potential to occupy residents agenda's. Places like Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne aren't exactly back lots. Also, sit in M1 or Bruce Highway traffic on a Friday arvo/night or Staurday/Sunday morning to see how many Brisbanites escape to the coasts. Sydney also has beaches, the south and central coasts and even the snow in winter. Sure the theme parks might sit on the Gold Coast's potential activities list but cities are filled with interesting things to do (except Adelaide I'm told...) and the impact on sporting crowds is minimal at best. You also may be the exception but while I know plenty of people and families with the world passes you refer to, I don't know any the go more than a handful of times a year or let it get in the road of a football game they're interested in.
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
In answer to the title – Yes Rugby League does belong on the Gold Coast. A couple of points of note: - Stadium Access: This has been discussed before and until the issue is address either by the Gold Coast City Council or QLD Government people will continue to look at this factor when deciding to attend. - Fixturing: How many prime time games have the Titans got scheduled this year either from a TV or ground attendance perspective compared with the Broncos up the road? - Talent: Many poor recruiting choices in the recent past (Idris, Taylor etc) and missed on DCE while at the same time Sezer and Myles are out of here. There is some good talent still on the roster like Elgey and Roberts, it is a matter of getting them noticed by more locals - Possibility of home games being moved to Central Queensland: The NRL needs to come out and say that this is not going to happen with the Titans becoming some sort of traveling circus. Fans want to know that their team is committed to their city/region. From a professional sport perspective neither the Titans or the Suns are going anywhere which is great for the GC. Their existence in representing the two biggest codes in the country ensure that neither governing body will allow that investment to fold. Further to the above is the fact that two stadiums have been built on the GC with tax payers money, Robina specifically was 100% tax payer funded. The Queensland Government must be a consideration for the NRL if they ever want to get more tax-payer funds for further infrastructure. The Titans are on a long rebuild from both an on-field and off-field perspective, they will be fine as the building blocks are now being put in place for their long term future.
Birdy
Guest
We live right in tne middle, 25 min to beenleigh railway station to board a train for Cbus . Then a short walk to the stadium.? Same going to suncorp 20 min trip to Springfield and so on . We go with friends even grand kids. Real easy , go by train only way to travel. I do agree that the majority can't travel by train so things like parking ave to be looked at. The NRL has to get all things right this time,, you see Titans gear on kids everywhere . The support is there .
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Rob9 I mentioned the isolation and dead zone effect the area around the stadium generates on past threads and was laughed at. I've attended games there at l;east half a dozen times over the years,and getting there with its lack of parking, thus by bus, it lacks that real stadium and surrounds feel./Leaving after a game at night,it lacks atmosphere with its surrounds.
Minge
Guest
Yeah but its the cost of food and parking - its on TV and its 2 dimensional so I see everything on TV and I have the replays to overcome the stoppage times in NRL which are really annoying - it doesnt take the NYC kids a minute to pack a scrum why does it take the seniors so long - a secret union agreement to have a rest. I either pay $1200 a year for Fox or I use the money to go to games - the wife gets to watch Fox and I am not away from weekend chores for 4-5 hours going to a game whereas I can do washing, cleaning, tidying at home at half time and breaks between games where time poor 2 and 3 job parents need to relax.
Minge
Guest
Did you notic ethe typhoon conditions the Suns game was played in and the fact they had 23 players to pick from - 17 injuries. Is every supporter at Cbus go for the home team - the Souths game had a significnat red presence....
Ben
Guest
Sorry, did I say the Gold Coast? I meant Melbourne.
Ben
Guest
Rob9, do you have kids? My family has in the past purchased a season pass to a local 'world' and it was one of the best value entertainment spends I have made (worst - pool at home). If I lived on the GC a combination of worlds, beach visits and hinterland trips would fill my families' dance card. If the Suns or Titans were winning and putting on a good show I would certainly consider the spend but would seek cheap tickets rather than membership.
Ben
Guest
Yep, and by 2010 the novelty had worn off - it was a known quantity.
Ben
Guest
I agree 100% - if the Suns become regular contenders for the Premiership more people will attend. It is much better value for money if the team you support is winning - otherwise you can catch it on tv and spend your money elsewhere.
Rob9
Roar Guru
Bingo. I'm one. I'm a diehard Sharks fan and my wife is a 2nd generation GC'er yet still supports the Broncs. When we take the plunge into parenthood and family orientated activities like heading to the footy become the norm, I dare say our loyalties will be test and we'll have to switch to the local team. While we're DINK's and nights out and dinner with mates are the more popular entertainment options, we're happy being fans from afar of our traditional teams.
marco
Guest
The NRL wont give up and leave the area to the AFL. The Titans may lose cash for a while but the NRL needs to prop them up for the sake of the competition.
marco
Guest
Cant complain about ticket prices. NRL tickets are cheap. Arent kids getting in for free on the gold coast?
Rob9
Roar Guru
To be fair, Soccer's not a 'graveyard' on the Gold Coast. The local competition is actually pretty well supported and like most major cities in Australia, junior numbers are strong. Palmer's abomination is what's in the graveyard. It was a one-off game, a jump in interest can be expected.
Rob9
Roar Guru
To be fair, Gold Coast families aren't heading off to the theme parks every weekend. I really don't think these sorts of entertainment options are legitimate competition for heading to a game at Cbus or Metricon. Re: 'nightclub hot spots'. It's not exactly a quiet night in the Sydney or Brisbane CBD's on a Friday or Saturday, not to mention the Valley, Cross, Darling Harbour, West End etc etc.
Rob9
Roar Guru
Lucky we don't all form opinions based on the negatives that we hear about on the news every now and again. You've also just run off social problems suffered by every major city in Australia in the 21st century.
Rob9
Guest
Couple of things; Very few parallels can be drawn between the NFL in LA and the NRL on the Gold Coast. I think you’ve come to this realisation in your third last paragraph. The NFL is a year or 2 away from making the move back into LA (with at least 1 team- possibly more) and when they do they won’t be going anywhere again. Two sports operating under very different parameters and two completely different markets with different challenges. Rugby League’s (and professional sports for that matter) success on the Gold Coast is a multifaceted issue. One thing’s for sure, and that’s that there is absolutely a market for professional sports like Rugby League on the Gold Coast- for a whole host of reasons. From the game on the weekend; the fact that origin only took out 1 Titan doesn’t matter so much. The dogs were missing 5 plus their captain which really takes a lot of spice out of the encounter. Not a strong position to be coming from when selling the game to the community. There also seems to be a league wide issue with crowds at the moment. I think the draw/game scheduling really needs to be looked at along with how individual games are marketed. My team (the Sharks) and the Titans have both been a bit unlucky with what Mother Nature has served up on game day. It did seem to be a wetter than normal autumn. It was a nice arvo on the Coast yesterday but it was forecast to rain and most would have had their money on that with the weather that we woke up to in the morning. Luckily for those that went to the game it held off until later in the night. Looking at the issue beyond the weekend just gone; the location of Cbus has really put the Titans behind the 8-ball. The Gold Coast has been in no way developed with public transport in mind and there is a very limited culture of catching public transport amongst residents. Cbus is a bit over a km away from Robina Town Centre which is effectively a ghost town at night and there's currently very little else around. There's the opportunity to use this free space as an advantage and go with the US model that allows fans to drive and park near stadia, but governments being governments won't allow this. This being the case, the stadium really should have been built somewhere more centralised where there's also a bit of an entertainment precinct around so patrons can make more of an occasion of going to the game instead of being stuck in the burbs. Somewhere like Southport on the Broadwater would have been ideal. The good news is, all is not lost and the future looks bright. Significant transport infrastructure like the light rail will be a game changer as the network expands including plans to out to Robina as well as further north and south. Plans and proposals for Robina and the surrounds will also see increased growth in the areas population as well as more commercial, retail, food and dining space that will provide a better game day experience for fans.
Birdy
Guest
Jarrod Hayne would look good driving an AUDI on the coast. He could maybe even pick up a bargain priced house off that Manly player. Did I say player?haha