After finishing last in 2019 under Garth Brennan, the Gold Coast Titans’ playing group needed a huge shake up and a new coach.
Justin Holbrook signed with the club to start in 2020, carry out a complete roster overhaul and create a new, winning culture that players and fans wanted to be a part of – and boy has he done that!
His first year, he took the Gold Coast from 16th to ninth and gave fans something to look forward to in 2021.
Last year, he then furthered his efforts, the club making the finals for the second time in ten years, narrowly losing to the Roosters in the qualifying finals.
Justin Holbrook (Photo by Dave Howarth/PA Images via Getty Images)
Holbrook made some great signings and contract extensions in Jamal Fogarty, AJ Brimson, Corey Thompson, Mo Fotuaika, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and David Fifita among others, which saw immediate results.
However, there are hidden repercussions Titan fans are ignoring with ‘stars’ Fifita and Fa’asuamaleaui.
Fifita signed until the end of ’23 on a reported $1.2 million a season. Staggering. At his best, he is one of, if not the, most damaging second-rower in the game. You give him the ball 20 metres out from the try line and bookies are already paying his anytime try-scorer.
Yet he goes missing on a frequent basis.
Fifita started 2021 in the run-on team but was relocated to the bench about halfway through the year to try and find his best role, as he isn’t an 80-minute player.
He has games where he makes 16 tackle breaks, runs for 175 metres, has four offloads, makes 30 tackles, with 50 post-contact metres. Then the next week he achieves no line breaks, two tackle breaks, 80-odd metres, and five missed tackles.
This will ultimately see Fifita leave the Titans at the end of his contract – as he has reached the ceiling salary wise and is not worth anywhere near that amount – or it will see the club make the wrong decision, re-sign him, and bury themselves in his payslips.
David Fifita (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Fa’asuamaleaui is in the same boat. ‘Big Tino’ came across from Melbourne in 2021 on a deal worth a reported $2 million over three years – roughly $650k a year for an impressive young forward who is a consistent workhorse.
But the announcement this week that he had re-signed with the club past 2023 on around $825,000 a year is just ludicrous.
Tino is a great player, a Queensland rep and a premiership winner under Craig Bellamy, but if the Titans extend Fifita’s contract, they will have two players chewing into one-fifth of a 30-man salary cap.
Not just two players, but two forwards, one who plays 60 minutes a game and the other who has a superb game followed by four mediocre performances.
The Gold Coast have made it clear Tino will be their star man and captain in the future, and if they re-sign Fifita, the club will be in a world of pain, continuing to scrape into the top eight at best.
Marshall Gardiner
Guest
Whats Tino's Stats?
Marshall James Gilchrist Gardiner
Guest
He's already matched mal in most amount of tries in a season, and Titans is'nt even a premiership winning team. Mal had ricki stuart and others who were very very good.
Marshall James Gilchrist Gardiner
Guest
I would rather pay the mill for Fifita than pay 850K for Tino. People just freak out because he is a forward and he is getting that money. Thats it. They just freaked out. They freaked out before he even started playing. Now people are very predictable. Once they have a freak out and have made their choice that fifita is'nt worth it before he's even played, what happens is, they will focus on all the bad things and not on the good. The good is he has scored more tries than any other forward for the past 23 years in a single season. Now he even missed games through suspension, had a rib injury so he can do just as good or even better next season. Whats dissapointing is he's not getting the credit for what he has done, just because of what he is earning.
Marshall
Guest
I think this 1 game four bad games buisness is bull****. It's more like 1 fantastic game, one good game one bad game. I mean he has already broken the record for most tries in a year for the titans. And also, on his day the writer says he is one of the best forwards if not the best. To be honest on his day no other forwards come even close because they are not scoring hatricks. The last time a forward has scored as many tries in a season as David was 23 years ago. The problem isn't with Fifita, he has done his job and his points got them in the finals. The problem is the titans don't have a million dollar half like most other clubs. If Titans had cleary and they camped down the other end, Fifita would score even more tries.
Adam
Roar Guru
I just envisioned that David Fifita was bigger than what he actually is. You're close to the mark actually in terms of size.
Bill
Guest
Anyone take it into consideration that Fifita is 21? It's a very young age learn consistency. Talent doesn't equate to maturity and professionalism and players like Haas are the exception not the rule. Give the young fella some time grow into a better player. *price tag calls for it but is it that easy to do? Every player would be consistent if it was that easy
Redcap
Roar Guru
Dunno about obsessed. But southern France/northern Spain is my favourite part of the world. I'd choose the country just to the west of San Sebastian.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
You are obsessed with France, aren't you AMD? My wife and I love Tuscany, Italy as an alternate place to retire if ever we end up overseas.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Or WWE like Daniel Vidot. :silly:
Redcap
Roar Guru
I know little about union, so I'll defer to you there. I had him in mind as a centre in union, SBW style.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Yep ! The brainstrust of the Titans ( coach & playmakers) need to utilise him much more effectively. Its like having a Ferrari in the garage , but only using it when the Barina is in for a service ?
Tony
Roar Guru
Maybe he could play on the wing. He already spends most of his time near the touch judge
Adam
Roar Guru
Yeah but most Japanese clubs can get away with taking some ageing number 8 who already knows what he is doing. Fifita wouldn't get away with floating around only looking to run at a half back
Adam
Roar Guru
He's priced out of Union too. Who's going to take a guy that size that doesn't like the grunt work? Cause he'd be a number 8 and they're the guys who take the toughest, dirtiest jobs in a game of Union.
kk
Roar Pro
Nat, Titans pathway to the Big One.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yeah agreed Albo That ability to win a game off his own bat is what separates Fifita from most forwards and puts him in that elite money range No doubt he needs to improve his consistency, but he’s still only 21 But it’s not always his fault. Early in 2021 he played a game where he destroyed a team and scored a couple of tries. The next week, he barely got the ball. It wasn’t necessarily a lack of effort - the ball just didn’t go down his side of the field He definitely sits on his edge and doesn’t come in looking for work enough when that happens but there were more than a couple of games where they just never sent the ball his way
supersillysalmon248408
Roar Rookie
Talyor was solid 2016-17, but the only memorable try Ash had was against the cowboys.
IGOR11
Roar Rookie
Mediocre spine will have them going nowhere…
Succhi
Roar Rookie
Titans probably have to pay overs at the moment to attract or retain players. It’s been a while since they had decent halves and can’t recall a decent 9. On that sort of coin I would expect Tino to be captain or kicking goals.
Cam
Roar Rookie
Understandably there hasn’t been too much love for Fifita, that price tag comes with a whole heap of expectation. I mean, it is just so much money. For mine though, I’d reckon if the Titans had ball-parked some numbers for Dave at the start of the season, they’d have jumped at 17 tries, 22 line breaks, 150+ tackle busts, 20+ average tackles at 92% efficiency. Yes they might be paying overs, but at least they aren’t paying overs on potential. He is better than good and a genuine match winner. Yes he lacks consistency, but in my opinion, that problem sits squarely on the coaching staff. If Holbrook holds up his end, the Titans might get close (ish) to money paid over the next couple of years. That one/two punch of Fifita and big Tino might develop into something really special.