Gold Coast, support the fans that support you

Fans are often referred to as the lifeblood of any club, the heart of any sport. They are the reasons why those who run onto the field week in-week out get paid top dollar to focus on their chosen profession.

All children running around the sporting field as their parents watch on the brisk Saturday mornings are fans of the various clubs from the avalanche of sporting codes we have in this great country we call Australia.

Being a fan is like being on a rollercoaster. You get to experience the jubilation of a high when the players on the field band together and pull off a win – one that will see your team move away from the dreaded bottom of the ladder.

However, you also feel the heartbreak when your team loses. You know the banter with family, friends and co-workers is coming and with social media as popular as it is, that banter rubs more salt into your fresh wounds.

The sad part about it is, that when you yourself turn to social media to express your disappointment following a loss, you are pigeon-holed into one of two categories.

You are either “not a real fan”, that is, someone who sticks to the club through thick and thin. As a true fan – according to some – you would never criticise the team you support.

On the other side of the coin if you are constantly making excuses you are a ‘fan-boy”. The club, the players and the system can do no wrong, it is your role to jump on and defend the club, it is your role to point out when people aren’t being fans.

The reality is both sides of the coin are as important as each other.

Criticising the club shows that you are hurting as much as you’d hope the players are following a loss, however, being a fan-boy is keeping things in check.

The voice of reason that outlines that next week is another week, you pick the fans up as the disappointment wears off and help them focus on what is the most important thing – at least we have a team to support.

I am a fan of the Gold Coast Titans – and boy what a year it has been.

(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

Throughout the opening half of the season, you could forgive a lot of their narrow losses, their injury toll was atrocious many key players sitting out on the sidelines.

But the one thing that gave you hope as a fan was seeing the boys dig deep and played the game with pride. Apart from the odd game, the Titans players played with the pride, passion and purpose that fans love.

Deep down inside, the hope was there that once we had our best team on the field we would embark on this unbeaten streak and race into the finals.

However, as history shows, that was not to be.

Over the past few weeks, there has been a 22-point loss to the lowly placed Wests Tigers, a 54-point drubbing at the hands of the Brisbane Broncos, a 26-point loss to the St George Dragons, a 22-point loss to Parramatta and most recently, a 12-point loss to the Bulldogs.

It has been gut wrenching – almost unbearable.

My ten-year-old son has grown up with everything Titans, posters on his wall, shirts and memorabilia. He runs around the backyard with his football each afternoon and most of the weekend he commentates his own games, an imaginary Ash Taylor and Anthony Don somehow always come together with a pin point accurate kick, we are even lucky enough to hear his on-field referee and bunker award the try, to secure a last-minute victory for the Titans against his chosen opponent for the day.

This has however diminished, no longer does his Titans shirt take pride-of-place as the go-to shirt when getting changed after school.

The Titans posters are slowly being replaced and each week I see his little heart breaking as we watch the game. He sits there at kick off full of hope only to be disappointed by fulltime.

This little guy, who previously would have done anything to even meet a Titans player, and who sat with me, just months old in my arms, to watch the first ever game between the Titans and Tigers in 2008 didn’t even bother returning from getting a drink on the weekend at half time.

As fans, it is easy to sit back and say they should’ve done this, they should’ve done that – or even to direct the blame immediately onto players that aren’t our favourites.

But here is the moment of truth.

I hope that writing this, someone from the Titans club reads it and fans who jump down the throats of others just for voicing their opinion look at the bigger picture.

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Neil Henry
Neil Henry’s contract was due to expire at the end of this year. However, by making the top eight it automatically added a further year to his contract.

But think about it. Realistically did the Titans make the top eight? No, they were like Steven Bradbury and got there by default – the Parramatta Eels being stripped points for breaches of the Salary Cap.

While ‘The King’ is one of the great tactical coaches, a quick look at his coaching statistics is enough to really question whether he is NRL quality.

He has just 109 wins from 248 games – a winning percentage of just 44 per cent.

Jarryd Hayne
At $1.2-million you would expect a lot more of Jarryd Hayne, especially after having a whole pre-season under his belt. For a player being paid on the 2009 version of himself, rather than what he has done recently, you’d think that he’d put in a lot more effort.

It is easy to see Jarryd as the scapegoat in all of this. Both sets of supporters on the weekend booed him when he kicked the ball out on the full, or when his cut out pass went forward.

While he is caught out of position a few times and still looks like he is carrying the extra pounds around the waist, the ideas were the right call, it was just execution that let him down.

However, a team has 17 players, and while he should have a more leadership mentality, the disappointing losses for the Titans have the fans’ fingers pointing directly at him.

There are games he disappears completely, however, there are 12 other players out there who just aren’t getting the job done either.

(AAP Image/Dan Peled)

The club, the future
If the North Sydney Bears get their wish and secure the Titans license from the NRL when they go on the market at the end of next month, the NRL can kiss the Gold Coast goodbye.

Gold Coast Bears? I think not.

As the club looks to embark on yet another rebuilding phase, one that seems like we have been constantly in since the departure of Scott Prince at the end of 2012, it is important to take a stand.

It is important for the club (yes Graham Annesley and Rebecca Frizelle – I am looking at your level) to think of the fans as they prepare for the future.

You must get a director of football, look at the success of Phil Gould. You must take your hat off to a man with so much coaching experience who has come through and well and truly turned the Penrith Panthers around.

Think Tim Sheens – after 166 games for the Panthers he has gone on to coach 721 games, a figure that is still rising. This has included 31-games in charge of the Australian squad.

If anyone could come in and fill the position like Gus Gould, there is no-one better than Sheens.

With someone like Sheens in the role as director of football, the club can then take a chance on a new NRL coach. One of the leading candidates needs to be Kevin Walters.

If that doesn’t happen, then why not the highly regarded Walker Brothers from Ipswich? They are ready, they have played at that level. They know what it takes to win – and look at what they did for Ben Hunt.

He was sent to the Jets a broken man, a player lost and sent to pasture, however, just ten days with the Walker brothers and he was self-confident again and has helped guide the Broncos to the position they are in now.

One thing you must do is support your fans – already this year, memberships are down at least 500, and after the dismal performance throughout the season, this number has the potential to decline even further.

Give back to the fans, listen to them, and give my son a reason to pull his jumper on again.