‘It’s not nice’: star Titan backs under siege coach
Joel Gould |
Gold Coast forward Beau Fermor has been through one coach sacking at the Titans and he doesn’t want a second.
The in-form second-rower on Tuesday addressed reports that Des Hasler will not be at the club in 2026.
Hasler has been buffeted by stories that he will either mutually come to an agreement to end his tenure a year early or be sacked due to a clause that allows the club to terminate his deal if the Titans do not play finals footy this year.
Hasler has repeatedly called the reports “unfounded” and “speculation”.
The last-placed Titans play Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday afternoon. Even if they won their remaining eight games it may not be enough to play finals due to their poor for and against.
Fermor made his State of Origin debut this year for Queensland and is a player who is supporting the coach after thriving under his stewardship. He was at the club when former mentor Justin Holbrook was axed in 2023.
“It’s never nice hearing that your coach could be on his way out … (or) when your coach is in the media about getting sacked,” Fermor said.
“When you’re sitting last on the ladder … people start to ask why are you sitting there and fingers start to get pointed from outside these four walls.
“It is a bit unfair if you see how hard Des works and how much he wants to win. It’s unfortunate that we’re not delivering that for him.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Des and I get along really well with him. Justin (Holbrook) was no different.”
Fermor was emphatic when asked if he was backing Hasler for the long haul as coach.
“Yeah, definitely. It’s not Des’s fault,” Fermor said.
“Des can’t do a whole lot on game day from the coach’s box.
“As a group I know that we’re really connected to try and finish this year off strong and hopefully get a few more wins under our belt before the year’s out.”
Fermor was dropped after his Origin debut following the loss in Brisbane in game one of the series. He said he was not bitter about it and would fight to get his spot back after the Maroons won the series 2-1.
“We’re not going too crash hot as a club here, so that probably didn’t help my situation much,” he said.
“Me and Billy (Slater) had a good chat before game two about what kind of stuff I needed to work on and I agreed with what he said. I’ll try and work on those few things in my game.
“The boys went on to win the series, which I was really stoked with. Hopefully I can be back in that arena in the next couple of years, but I’ve got a lot of hard work to do to get myself back in there.”
AAP
