This is the 14th article in the series where I’ll pick a team of the best players who got away from a club since 2000. Today – the Gold Coast Titans.
The only criteria are that the player named must have made his debut for the Titans, left the club after 2000, and then played with another NRL club, rather than just retired or headed to obscurity in either the ESL or rugby.
(Details in brackets are the year the player debuted for the Titans and the number of games played for the club.)
1. David Mead (2009, 147 games)
Mead was a very talented player with speed to burn and he could play anywhere in the outside backs. He played 15 tests for PNG, captaining them on many occasions. It was a sad day for the club when he was signed by the Broncos for the 2017 season.
2. Jordan Atkins (2008, 28 games)
Atkins was a late bloomer, making his debut at age 25, and he couldn’t have wished for a better start, running in four tries in his first game in the top grade. He struggled to hold down a first grade spot over the next couple of seasons, however, and then signed with Parramatta in 2011.
3. Dominique Peyroux (2011, 16 games)
Peyroux had played three games for the Cook Islands before he made his first grade debut towards the end of the 2011 season, but failed to kick-on with the Titans the following year, and then signed with the Warriors for the 2013 season. Has now found his level in the ESL.
4. Jesse Arthars (2019, 12 games)
After coming through the ranks at Melbourne and then Souths, Arthars looked the goods when he finally made his debut at the Titans midway through 2019, but he slipped through their fingers when he was signed by the Broncos for 2020 and beyond.
5. Esikili Tonga (2008, 36 games)
Tonga debuted at age 20, but his career with the Titans was largely hampered by injury. He was part of the Gold Coast’s wooden spoon-winning team in 2011 and picked up another when he made the mistake of joining the Eels in 2012.
6. Aidan Sezer (2012, 71 games)
Sezer made a solid start to his career after debuting as a 20-year-old, and became a prolific point scorer for the club. Unfortunately, they managed to lose him to the Raiders in 2016, where his career well and truly kicked on.
(Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
7. Jamal Fogarty (2017, 41 games)
Losing one good half to Canberra is careless, losing another is downright negligent. Fogarty was one of the Titans’ best, and captain of the side, when he asked for a release to join Canberra in 2022. What were they thinking?
8. Ryan James (2010, 144 games)
James had some good years with the Gold Coast, but after missing all of the 2020 season due to injury, he moved to the Raiders in 2021. The Titans had the best of James’ career.
9. Karl Lawton (2016, 12 games)
Lawton played just half a game in his debut season before injury sat him down, but he bounced back the next season to be a regular member of the squad during the first half of the season. The Titans released him early in the 2018 season so that he could sign with the Warriors, a decision that was probably the best for all concerned.
10. Brenton Lawrence (2011, 18 games)
Lawrence looked good during his time with the Titans and offered a lot in both attack and defence. Manly snuck under their guard and signed him for 2013, and he proved to be a very good signing for the Sea Eagles.
11. Bodene Thompson (2009, 50 games)
One of the more restless players the game has seen, Thompson’s odyssey began on the Gold Coast in 2009, before being released to join the Tigers. The Titans were never going to hold on to him.
12. Paul Carter (2014, 21 games)
Carter had plenty of talent, and some great footballing genes, but he just couldn’t stay on the straight and narrow, which saw his Titans career over after one season. Better to cut this loose cannon loose.
13. Max King (2017, 38 games)
King is a very good forward who has blossomed this season at the Bulldogs. After making a solid start to his career with the Titans he was traded to Melbourne in 2019. A player the Titans should have hung on to.
Apart from a pair of good halves, and a couple of useful forwards in Lawrence and King, this isn’t such a telling list when compared to some clubs, primarily due to the fact that the Titans haven’t been around as long as the rest.
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Titanic
Roar Rookie
It's the off-season and the RLWC is on at the wrong time of day so why not roll out the old chestnuts. Recruitment anomalies and poor decisions are a part and parcel of every club but in the Titans case the travesty in their recruitment puzzle was the gross mishandling of their pathways ... until recently. Locking-up the key development schools of Keebra and PBC plus the addition of a host of others together with an attentive attitude to their catchment areas has seen one of the most fertile rugby league regions finally have real pathways to the NRL squad. Of course this means that players will leak from that system due to a lack of availability but now the Titans have the system to better manage their talent pool. One question in the midst of all that positivity is the effectiveness of splitting the NRL squad across two QCup clubs. There is probably a fair argument for having a single Titans reserve grade.
Dumbo
Roar Rookie
Maybe the relative performances of Arrow and Fifita is related to the quality of the coaching staff or the club cultures, or simply that many players play better when surrounded by other good players, and seem to be incapable of excelling if they have to be the ones setting the example in skill or effort. I'll lay you a penny to a pound that if David Fifita were to move to somewhere like Melbourne or the Roosters we would see a completely different player.
matth
Roar Guru
Surely the one that got away was Daly Cherry Evans, he never even made it to the club!
Tony
Roar Guru
I see the Knights have a couple going on EBay
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
Saints are buying a bullet proof vest
Tony
Roar Guru
Handy line up
Tony
Roar Guru
You do realise that this is part of a series in which a similar article has been written about each other club?
Tony
Roar Guru
Last count it was 467,896
Redcap
Roar Guru
Hundreds of thousands have left the Tigers. Who knew. I would sincerely love to see the Titans do well, but they don't give an old Seagulls fan much reason for optimism.
Redcap
Roar Guru
I'd add that the Titans have had longer than their predecessors to figure things out, haven't had anything like the off-field instability (the Seagulls were an all-time basket case) and have arguably yielded less in terms of developing junior talent, especially from northern NSW. My loose theory revolves around it becoming progressively harder to mine talent from regional areas as migration patterns, especially from the pacific, changed from the late 1980s, the population became even more concentrated in cities and more transient around smaller cities and regional towns. It'll be interesting to see what the Titans, Knights and Raiders do in future. The Cowboys should be fine, unless north Qld suddenly goes of rugby league.
Redcap
Roar Guru
I reckon the ones who got away from the Giants/Seagulls/Chargers are a stronger team - I did something similar in one of my GC rant articles. Fullback: Russell Bussian Wingers: Marcus Bai and Stuart Kelly Centres: Terry Cook and Brett Horsnell Five eighth: Ben Ikin Halfback: Andrew Dunemann Props: Kevin Campion and Robert Tocco Dummy half: Jason Hetherington Second rowers: Adrian Vowles and Jeremy Schloss Lock: Wayne Bartrim.
Titans FanForever
Roar Rookie
Must U Guys Consistley Bash Up The Titans No Ofance But If U Want To Bash Up A Team Bash Up The West Tigrers They Have Let Go Hunderds and Thoundsands of players in their past the likes of Josh Addo Carr And Ryan Pappenhuzyn and many more so how do u like those cookies hay
Tony
Roar Guru
Yep. Bigtime :happy:
Maxtruck
Roar Rookie
And the Broncos dodged a bullet there
Tony
Roar Guru
For me, Hoppa will always be remembered as a player for the digital age
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Sport is a reflection of society. A good family background doesn’t always guarantee that the trait will continue down through the generations. I was about to comment that it’s something people “can’t put their finger on” & it reminded me of the Hopoate family. Strictly religious however dad not only will be long remembered for a particular on field act but also faced the courts on at least one occasion. Some of his sons have had contrasting football & life’s experiences.
Tony
Roar Guru
:crying:
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
John, last I heard he was playing for Cessnock in Newcastle , has a brother Blake who played for Toukley this year who won central coast comp . Steve was very good and came from a very strong football family background.
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
Lazy Davy Dragon. Coming to a Leagues club near you.
Tony
Roar Guru
Son of Steve but couldn't focus on footy