Bottom to top: Tino insists Titans can follow Broncos
Joel Gould |
Gold Coast captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui wants to replicate Brisbane’s rise from rock bottom to premiers, speaking about why he stayed loyal to the club.
Fa’asuamaleaui, who had an exit clause in his deal for 2027, on Wednesday ended speculation over his future, confirming he will be staying at the Titans until at least the end of 2030.
The recruitment of new coach Josh Hannay played a key role in his decision not to pursue interest from Perth Bears and other NRL clubs.
The Test prop’s issues with the club surfaced in an unhappy 2025 season where the Titans finished 16th under former coach Des Hasler.
“Look, there was a lot of frustrations at the time and definitely the light in the tunnel did flicker at times,” he said on Thursday.
“But every time I really looked into it, I definitely didn’t want to leave this place. I came here for a reason.
“I definitely want to still turn that around and with Josh at the helm it’s definitely helped out a lot.
“The changes that he’s made and the culture that he is forming here with us boys, it’s been so good and I just can’t wait to build with him and hopefully bring success here.”
While the Titans have never been title contenders during Fa’asuamaleaui’s tenure at the club, he did get emotional watching many of his mates at Brisbane lift the 2025 NRL trophy.
“Every year we’re not lifting the trophy, it definitely burns,” he said.
“To see where (the Broncos) started a few years ago after a wooden spoon, to finally get there is really good to see that and it’s something that motivates me.
“A reason I want to stay is that we’ve been through a lot of hard times and there’s probably some hard times ahead, but there is no place I’d rather do it. I want continue that journey of why I came up here to bring that success.
“We;’ve got to do a lot of hard work, but hopefully in a few years’ time, or whatever it is, we can look back at the Broncos’ situation similar, where they went from wooden spooners to the premiers.”
There is a key difference in that the Broncos are a huge club with seven premierships to their credit.
The Titans have won just one semi-final, in 2010, in their 19-year history and are searching for sustained success.
That fact does not deter Fa’asuamaleaui, who is a loyal character. That loyalty was tested when he did not progress talks with mentor and Perth coach Mal Meninga.
“”I didn’t really venture into it,” he said.
“I was on the market obviously, but I didn’t look at anywhere else to be honest. I kind of just wanted to get away from football and relax in the off season.
” I m staying here and I still respect Mal so much. He gave me my Aussie jersey too.”
AAP
