Gold Coast won’t decide until next week if Jarryd Hayne or coach Neil Henry will be axed with the NRL club’s board to take their time over what CEO Graham Annesley said was a “really complex” matter.
Hayne and Henry are contracted for another year but it appears one of them – or possibly both – will soon be out the door.
News Corp Australia reported on Monday night that Henry will be the one to go, with Thursday night’s match against Hayne’s former club Parramatta likely to be his final game at the helm.
Annesley and chair Rebecca Frizelle met individually with the pair on Monday and had “open, frank and honest” discussions about reports that suggested they can no longer work together.
The Titans then convened an emergency board meeting, which stretched for three hours but provided no resolution to the club’s latest crisis.
Annesley said it was a “broader” issue than just their relationship but did not elaborate on what he meant.
He even suggested both could be at the club in 2018, as unlikely as that sounds.
“Clearly the club is hurting at the moment with the public perception of what has gone on in recent weeks on the field, and there has been Jarryd’s statement after the game,” Annesley told reporters.
“We’re trying to get across those issues and make a decision as to which way the club should go moving forward.
“You don’t have to be Einstein to work out the possible options.”
Darryl Kelly, the leader of a consortium seeking to buy the Titans, and fellow board member Trish Hogan were spotted arriving at the club’s Parkwood base early in the afternoon.
“Having a board meeting for three hours is not enough time to consider all the facts. And we want the time to consider that because we are talking about people’s careers,” Frizelle said.
“We will make the right decision… but we need the time to do that.”
Annesley admitted he was surprised by reports over the weekend that laid bare the problems between Hayne and Henry.
“We weren’t planning to meet this week, we weren’t planning to interview Jarryd and Neil today. But the focus that’s been placed on it since the game meant the board just couldn’t ignore it,” he said.
The Titans will face the Eels with the issue still hanging over their heads but Annesely expects players will front up like professionals.
“We expect them to earn their money and it’s no different to any other game,” he said.
Hayne, however, is in doubt because of an ankle injury.
mushi
Guest
I don't know. If you sack hayne then you burn cap space
Emcie
Roar Guru
Lets be honest here, this is neither Hayne nor Henrys fault, this situation is the result of board decisions. It was the board that decided to throw $1.2 mill at Hayne despite having a full roster and it threw years of Henrys gameplan and recruitment strategies out the window. That same board now find themselves in the position of trying to sell their club while their head coach and marque player are at loggerheads, and they seem to be of the opinion that keeping their marque player makes their club a more attractive deal then keeping their coach does (or at least that a $400,000 payout is an easier sell then a $1,200,000 one). Signing Hayne was a short term solution and removing Henry will be a short term solution and both decisions suggest that the clubs football related needs are weighted much lower then the clubs corporate concerns as far as the board sees it. If Henry is let go as has been rumoured then i'm not sure how they get a decent replacement to sign when its pretty obvious that the board will happily force decisions and tie the coaches hands when it suits them. And what if Hayne decides not to hang around after next year? Quality rosters take years of savey recruitment to build, and throwing such a large portion of their cap at Hayne will have long term effects. $1.2 million is just too much for a player that isn't a long term investment that you don't have an exit strategy for.
Mike Dugg
Guest
Titans need a real tough coach like Dessie, Bellamy or Toovey to give the players a swift rocket
Craig
Guest
The titans are in real trouble if they sign Jayne and not Henry. The absolute worst decision they could make. We all understood the decision to sign Jayne was to help off field. But now when it's actually negatively impacting on the field, at great cost, he has to go.
J.C.
Roar Pro
On Nrl 360 Phil Rothfield stated that Neil Henry according to his sources is to be sacked and they'll keep Hayne. If that is true, bloody stupid decision!!!!
no one in particular
Roar Guru
sacking Henry is cheaper, doesn't count against the cap and is thoroughly justified
RV
Guest
I think the villifaction of Hayne is tiring. We all know he can tend not to put in the hard yards but the diatribe from Paul Kent and others is over the top. In particular how can we blame him for the coaching turnstile at Parramatta before Brad Arthur. The Eels had a very ordinary side for much of his time there and Hayne was not on big $ in the early years of his time there (06-08). He really emerged in 2009. In 2011 Steven Kearney came on as coach. His star recruits were Karl Webb, Paul Whaitura, Chris Walker and Chris Hicks! Unsurprisingly that failed and they finished 14th followed by last in 2012 and last again in 2013 under Ricky. In 2014 they were only marginally better. From 2009 - 2014 Hayne was consistently the best player at the club while Hindmarsh and others plodded around with their shorts halfway down their bum. The club had massive problems off the field and s poor side on it, yet everyone is trying to pin this retrospectively on the one guy that played well more often than anyone else.
J.C.
Roar Pro
Hayne has to go, been a disappointment all year long and not worth one tenth of what he is being paid, maybe he jump in the boxing ring next.
IKnowEverything
Guest
Annesley is proving to be a weak club leader. There can be only one decision, dump Hayne. Henry is not on the field missing tackles and leaking hundreds of points over several games, this is not the fault of a good or bad coach. On this point the GC players need to have their responsibility rammed down their overpaid throats. To retain Henry or to let him is a completely separate decision. And if he is sacked, what coach worth their salt would want to come to club, which is prepared to put the interests of prima donna players ahead of the club, the coach and team performance on the field? The way this matter is being "managed", the Titans are condemning themselves to further failure in upcoming seasons.
Alan
Guest
Plss poor management in action as per usual. It's a damn shame most people in management positions think Dilbert's "Random Acts of Management" is a how to guide rather than a slagging.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Sack the only coach to get the team within a postcode of finals for years, or sack the massively overpaid "marquee signing" with a rubbish attitude. Not a hard decision.
DoubleDown
Guest
Keep Henry and ditch Hayne. That extra $1.2M will then create a great war chest to build the Gold Coast Bears