Sacked Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook has reacted with shock at Gold Coast’s decision to dump him effective immediately, with former Manly premiership-winning coach Des Hasler to replace him next year.
“I just can’t believe it, I feel awful. Totally gutted,” Holbrook told News Corp.
“I did not see this coming at all, that’s what I am pissed off about.
“I could understand if they said, ‘Look you have three games or whatever time period to do something’, but to be moved on like this, I’m still coming to terms with it.
“If they were a bit more open about the way things were heading, I would have been able to digest this, but it’s hit me out of the blue.”
The Titans issued a statement on Thursday morning to say they had “agreed to part ways” with Holbrook but did not say who would be filling in as caretaker coach for the rest of the season. They announced later in the day that current assistant Jim Lenihan had been appointed for the remainder of 2023.
The Titans informed Holbrook and the playing group of their decision on Thursday morning as the culmination of a review into the football program that began last year. “We think we’ve got large chunks of that program right,” Titans chief executive Steve Mitchell said.
“The piece that we don’t know that we’ve got right at the moment is how the playing group is being brought forward.
“We think we need a winner in place and someone who’s got the IP and has been to grand finals. It’s very unusual to have a coach of Des’ ilk in the market where he’s literally not employed. Sometimes timing is everything.”
Des Hasler walks onto the field during Anzac Round. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Hasler won two premierships with the Sea Eagles in 2008 and ’11 and also had a tumultuous stint with Canterbury and a second run at Manly before he was sacked at the end of last season.
His appointment comes after he pulled out of the race to coach St George Illawarra when the beleaguered joint-venture club was on the lookout for a new coach earlier this season.
“I’m looking forward to joining the Titans and to the 2024 season,” Hasler said.
“The club has a strong playing roster, the region is blessed with emerging talent and the organisation is firmly embedded in the community.
“I’m confident we can deliver success to the region in the coming seasons.”
Titans coach Justin Holbrook. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Immortal centre Mal Meninga, who has held the position of Head of Performance and Culture at the Titans for several years, appeared blindsided by the decision and said he was “a little disappointed” for Holbrook when interviewed on SEN shortly after the announcement.
He indicated he does not “envisage being part of the club moving forward”.
The Titans, who had the bye last weekend, are still very much in finals contention this season, sitting ninth on the ladder with a 6-7 record heading into this Sunday’s derby against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.
They beat the Wests Tigers 28-12 in Holbrook’s final game in charge but had suffered three straight defeats to Newcastle, Canterbury and Souths beforehand.
The Titans went 31-51 under Holbrook since he took over from Garth Brennan at the start of 2020 with one first-round exit in his second season the only finals appearance during his tenure.
Hasler’s signing comes as star halfback Hunt agitates for a release from the remainder of his St George Illawarra contract and sets his sights on a move home to Queensland.
The Dragons formally declined Hunt’s request last Sunday but he is set to meet with club powerbrokers now his State of Origin duties are over for the time being.
Hunt looms as potential perfect fit for the Titans, who have a superstar-in-the-making at fullback in Jayden Campbell, a dynamic forward pack and a willing halves co-pilot in AJ Brimson. But Mitchell said the club could not make contact with Hunt until he secured a release from the Dragons.
“We can’t talk to Ben about his current contract nor should we, nor will we,” he said. “He hasn’t had a call from the club … He hasn’t called anyone at my club.”
Holbrook was under contract until the end of next season but the club has swung the axe seemingly out of the blue.
“He’s very sad,” Mitchell said. “(The players) are sad and that makes sense. They’ll miss Justin. I think he’s a friend and he’s got strong relationships there. But we’re about performance.
“We’ve got a playing group who genuinely want to win. I think they’ll want to bring a premiership to the Gold Coast.”
Gold Coast’s decision to bring in Hasler comes out of left field. The former representative halfback is known for being a polarising figure who can demand too much influence at clubs from his previous stops at Manly and Canterbury.
Hasler enjoyed great success in his first stint as Manly coach after rebuilding the club in 2004 from the aftermath of the Northern Eagles joint venture disaster with North Sydney.
The Sea Eagles thrashed Melbourne the win the 2008 Grand Final and accounted for the Warriors three years later before Hasler controversially switched to Canterbury for the next season.
During his time at the Dogs he took them to two Grand Finals in 2012 and ’14 but he was sacked three years later after his roster containing heavily back-ended contracts came back to bite them.
Hasler rejoined Manly in 2019 and they made the finals that year and again in 2021 but in the wake of the Pride jersey debacle late last season which led to them falling out of playoff contention, he was replaced by Anthony Seibold.
with AAP
Albo
Roar Rookie
I never doubted it for a minute , Rossi ! :laughing:
Maxtruck
Roar Rookie
Titans have had all three byes, position inflated by six points. Bulldogs have two to come and the Tigers & Dragons one Remove all the bye points from all teams and they would be 13th/14th
Simoc
Roar Rookie
I tend to think this is a good move. The Titans have underperformed forever, like their AFL locals The Suns. With a proven coach you have a benchmark as premierships aren't won by accident. To my mind the Titans are easybeats even though they win. They don't beat top sides in premiership form. As the Dolphins have shown, you don't need the best players. You need players committed to putting the team on top of the table or as close to as possible. Hopefully Hasler can gel the playing group.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
HY I think he’ll do OK , providing he stays away from those Rainbow Jerseys
KenW
Roar Rookie
They were sitting 9th before the jersey game against the Roosters. Dragons had beaten them 20-6 the week before to draw level with them on the table. After that game there were 2 teams they lost to that were behind them on the table (Titans & Dogs). If they'd have beaten those 2 teams they would have finished 10th rather than 11th.
Cam
Roar Rookie
Manly were sitting in 8th at the time, two wins outside the top 4 and had won four of their last five matches. In those five rounds, they played two of the top 4 sides with a 2 point loss to the Cowboys and a 6 point win over the Storm. They were really flying during this period and had scored 178-86, but then had all their momentum halted when the board blew up their season. Hypothetically, if we gave 2 points to Manly for each team they played below them on the ladder from R18, they would have finished on 30 points, which would have placed them equal 6th on the ladder with the Roosters and Rabbitohs.
Badseed
Roar Rookie
There’s 7 Manly players Dessie can take with him and at least one of them has a head so big it could count as two.
steveng
Roar Rookie
The comparison is that I’m not into all this BS feuds whatever you are going on about as its irrelevant, just remember this, that without the city money SOO would never be and it would be like it was before, where it was played at the Sports Ground, with 10 thousand people attending and no interest, as that is how it was, also the Qld teams would never be in the NRL as there would be NO money. Also, NRL players wouldn’t be averaging 350k salaries and top players wouldn't be getting over 1 million dollars per year contracts, or a players like Ben Hunt be able to SUCK 7 million dollars out of the Dragons and/or have the bargaining powers of breaking a contract etc etc don’t have a go at “No surprise to me if you’d prefer to still live in that Sydney competition bubble” if it wasn’t for the money from the city folks and the city media like Fox and Ch-9 then your bush footy would be just bush footy and dead, I remember when Beetson came to Sydney, he had the talent but it took him a while to get to the top, he wasn’t an overnight sensation, I wonder how the bush boys would go without the city RL and the money?
Noel
Roar Rookie
If that's all it takes, what can I say? I've made some poor career choices...
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
He read last year's comments and odds market for the first coaches axed in '23
langparker
Roar Rookie
Thorn, Brisbane Wests Panthers junior who dreamt of being an All Black, not a NZ rugby league international Petro, made the switch at the end of his Qld & aussie career to give something back Carroll, Bronco young gun in similar vein Moose, marches to a different drum & still seems to - not sure about his motivation
langparker
Roar Rookie
Not sure I get the comparison, SoO ‘hate’ is all about marketing $$$ but Ron Coote changing clubs to better his financial circumstances was a dog act? I applaud Dennis Tutty for sacrificing his best footy years by taking on the club ‘serfdom’ regime back in the day. No surprise to me if you’d prefer to still live in that Sydney competition bubble, a lot of clubs wanted teams like the broncs in the comp for the handout they got from the fees at the time, as long as they weren’t too successful. You don’t have to watch origin if it irks you. Said it a thousand times, NSW fans never had to watch rep games where their favourite sons (Beetson, Reddy, Lang etc and many before them) turned out against their own state team. From my recall of following rugby league, NSW country were also pi$$ed off when City picked plenty of bush kids bought by Sydney poker machine money to beat them in the annual series. Guess we’ll just have to agree to differ.
Noel
Roar Rookie
There's marquee money down at the Saints about to go to waste...
Noel
Roar Rookie
NRL 360 - So, no one saw this coming? Buzz Rothfield - Excuse me, I said several weeks ago he was under pressure Wow. A coach who's team is outside the 8 with the benefit of Byes is 'under pressure'. How does he do it?
steveng
Roar Rookie
Its not a lecture as its true, as the SOO is being thrashed for some sort of marketing by the media that have invested so much into it! It’s the same with the Souths v Easts feud, that is the same, as it may have started after Ron Coote’s dog act leaving the Bunnies and going to Easts (as they were not called the Roosters then) and is another thing that is all BS and it’s been magnified and marketed lately for the $$$s that it generates and its not a thing that I’m into, I don’t hate when I watch RL, never have and never ever will! When I was a kid the Souths v Easts was not promoted as a hate fest or contest, this has only come up recently for the reasons above.
John Shaw
Roar Rookie
Yes indeed. And they have done sweet FA to make the club a success, in stark contrast to Nick Politis, Matt Tripp, Russell Crowe, etc, who at the heart of it, are the very reason for the success of their clubs. Success starts at the very top, or failure as it were with the Dragons.
Nick Maguire
Roar Rookie
BP, too young and untried for SGI! :laughing:
Bernie
Roar Rookie
Brad Thorn? .... Petro? ... Toni Carroll? ... Moose? ...
langparker
Roar Rookie
Yeah, love being lectured by a Souths fan about hatred. Hows your clubs long standing feud with your rooster neighbours. Maybe before you attack people ‘up there’ about hatred you might look in your own backyard and ask Rusty to retract a few statements he’s made over the years. My 60+ years following footy has seen plenty of genuine hatred between Sydney clubs, didn’t need Qld to teach you anything.
langparker
Roar Rookie
Never complained about Cleary at any point, acknowledge his skills. However, Luai & To’o have divided loyalties between Samoa & NSW which seems clear to me.