Why Hannay can lead Titans to the promised land
Joel Gould and Scott Bailey |
New dawns at Gold Coast Titans have promised bright days but delivered dark clouds far too often, but director of football Scott Sattler insists it is different this time.
The appointment of new coach Josh Hannay from 2026 on a three-year deal has Sattler, the club’s foundation football manager in 2007, convinced the Titans are on the cusp of giving their long-suffering fans something to finally cheer about.
The 45-year-old Hannay, currently Cronulla and Queensland assistant coach, has been an interim head coach at the Sharks and North Queensland 29 times, and also mentored Souths Logan in the Queensland Cup.
Hannay replaces outgoing mentor Des Hasler and will be the fifth head coach the last-placed Titans have had in nine years.
“I’ve conducted my own personal project for the last two years and done research on a number of potential head coaches in the NRL,” Sattler told AAP.
“Josh is one of a few guys that stood out because of his ability to communicate and connect with players and staff.
“He grew up in Moranbah, a small Queensland country town where everybody has to be connected to help each other out.
“So he comes from grass-roots beginnings and understands the importance of all the people in an entire administration, from marquee players down to the people selling memberships and answering phones.”
Hannay had a 153-game NRL career, mostly with the Cowboys, which ended in 2007 after playing two State of Origin games for the Maroons.
He is what Sattler refers to as a “modern coach”.
“What I mean by that is players are far more intuitive and emotional these days, and he has this innate ability to understand what each specific player needs,” Sattler said.
The Titans have spoken to Maroons coach Billy Slater about Hannay’s input in a successful Origin campaign. He has been part of three successful series wins out of the past four as a key contributor.
“Billy and the players all say, as do the players at Cronulla, that he has matured so much the past 18 months, so much so that Billy has been able to delegate key responsibilities to him working with the most elite players in our game,” Sattler said.
“When you do enough research and talk to enough people, you understand he has ticked a lot of boxes with regard to the values and principles we want to concrete into the club.”
Origin is just a seven-week campaign, but Sattler spoke to two leading Cronulla players about his coaching philosophies and style, without Hannay knowing.
“They talked about his communication, but both said to me that ‘when I run on the field I know exactly what my key job is, it’s really clear and simple’,” Sattler said.
“Modern players want to know more about their own games, but they want coaches to simplify it as well, and that’s what Josh does.
“I love his attitudes. I am a ‘firsts’ man and so he is. He says he wants to be the first person to coach the Titans to a premiership.”
Sharks in-form hooker Blayke Brailey will be sad to bid farewell to Hannay, but said the Titans had secured a top-notch coach.
“It was obviously tough news to hear,” Brailey said.
“Selfishly, I want him to stay. He’s a great person, a great coach for our side, and I think back to 2021 when COVID hit, he took over and did a great job with our team.
“He’s pulled me aside many times and given me belief and confidence in my ability, and he’s definitely shaped the way I play today.
“We’re definitely a lot better people and better players with him part of our team.
“He’s got a load of experience, a load of knowledge and he passed that on to us and there’s no fluke. We’ve all come through and we’re starting to hit our straps and our peak now with the last few years we’ve had with him.”
Sattler, who won the 2003 premiership with Penrith as a player, moves into his new office at Titans HQ the week after the grand final. He will get his head around the task ahead with a deep investment in success. His late father John Sattler was part of the consortium that launched the Gold Coast/Tweed Heads Giants in 1988.
“It’s like a full-circle moment. In 1988 I was 16 years of age and I see my dad putting together a NSWRL club in his offices at the Palm Beach Hotel that was owned by Bob Hagan,” Sattler recalled.
“I was there at the first game in 1988 against the Bulldogs. I debuted with the Gold Coast Seagulls in 1992, and played in the first finals team in 1997 at the Gold Coast Chargers.
“Then I was asked to play a big role in putting the Titans together before our entry in 2007, so the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers community I really hold dear to my heart.
“The Gold Coast deserves a rugby league team they can get excited about. I’m willing to do whatever I have to, within reason, to ensure that happens.”
In 2010 the Titans made the preliminary final with a squad Sattler largely put together in 2007. They were made of the right stuff.
“Guys like Luke Bailey, Mat Rogers, Anthony Laffranchi, Scott Prince, Mark Minichiello, Nathan Friend and Preston Campbell set a lot of of principles in place even before week one,” Sattler said.
“They had already been vetted and we knew before they arrived they would pick up the reins and build something enduring.
“They tried to turn it into a nightmare for any visiting team that came to the Gold Coast. That was the case for a short period before decisions were made by the club that weren’t in the best interests of the team.
“For us it is about pulling the pieces together on and off the field to build a fabric that ensures the club is strong long after we are all in pine boxes.
“The Titans will be successful. The club has done a lot of due diligence on the people that are, and will be, involved going forward and the characteristics of the players we want the club’s identity to be built around.”
AAP
