‘I want it all’: Hannay’s bold Titans plan for success
Joel Gould |
New Gold Coast coach Josh Hannay has a vision for the club that, if realised, will make him the most successful in their history.
The Titans have been a failure on the field in their 18-year existence with their limited success sporadic and temporary.
There have been more false dawns at the club than tanned bodies on the beaches of the famous “glitter strip”.
If the 45-year-old gets his way the Titans will quickly move up the ladder from this season’s 16th-placed finish and be a beacon of success and positive growth.
“I am after everything,” Hannay said at his first press conference.
“I am after a short-term fix. I am after medium-term success and I am after long-term sustainability. I am after it all.
“I am not putting a ceiling or cap on what we are capable of at the club. I am very mindful that we need to put a competitive football side out there straight away but I am not tunnel-visioned.
“We need to create an environment and club that is capable of it all – short-term, medium term and long-term success.”
Hannay has a three-year deal to get Gold Coast moving in the right direction. He said the club’s ambition, headed by majority owners Rebecca and Brett Frizelle, was a magnet for him.
It is why he was comfortable with the Titans’ now aborted attempt to bring Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy to the club in 2027.
“I’ve made my position really clear,” Hannay said.
“From day dot the Frizelles and the club were open, honest and transparent with their interest in Craig coming to the club. I wasn’t blindsided. I go back to that word ambition.
“They wanted the very best people at this club and I’d like to think that is why they brought me on as head coach.”
It is another reason why Hannay said he welcomed the addition of Matthew Johns and Gorden Tallis as co-owners. Hannay said both had plenty to offer the club with Johns already meeting with local juniors to enhance a pathways program Hannay said would be vital to sustained success.
“There is renewed vigour for us to invest in our pathways and ensure we get the best kids from the region as Gold Coast Titans,” he said.
Hannay, a former Queensland and Cronulla assistant, said the Titans job had for a long time been “top of the list” as a coaching gig he craved.
“The challenges don’t scare me,” he said.
One of those challenges is recalibrating a roster that he said was too “top heavy”. That is why he was prepared to release boom back-rower David Fifita to join South Sydney.
Hannay has gone on a signing spree to secure players that, while not household names in the top 17 of other NRL clubs, will provide the quality depth to keep the incumbents more than honest.
Captain Tino Fa’asumaleaui will test the market for 2027, but Hannay has outlined his plan to keep him.
“Tino’s not dissimilar to any elite player in any professional sport – they want success, they’re driven by success, but there’s a little bit more to it,” Hannay said.
“They want to be in an environment where there’s personal development going on as well. They want to be in an environment where it’s a pleasure to come to work every day. First thing’s first, we create that environment.
“I’ve had some really honest discussions with Tino. We go back a long way, and one of the reasons I was so enthusiastic to come here and coach was to coach Tino, and he knows that.
“I know he has a passion for this club. We’re under no illusions. I know what he wants, he knows what I’m all about, so we’ll see where that goes.”
AAP
