By Christian Nicolussi
Incoming Titans coach Josh Hannay says he will relish the challenge of getting the Gold Coast to their first NRL grand final and revealed he had already been in contact with skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Jayden Campbell about sticking around for the long haul.
Hannay also confirmed Kieran Foran would remain an assistant coach and insists not poach any Cronulla talent his current employers wanted to keep.
The last-placed Titans finally parted ways with Des Hasler on Monday and announced Hannay, 45, would replace him on a three-year deal.
The Sharks and Queensland Origin assistant coach who spent a decade playing with the North Queensland Cowboys had been linked with the Cowboys and Newcastle jobs, but wasted little time inking a deal with the Titans after enjoying their weekend sales pitch.
There is a sense of irony in his appointment given Hannay was sounded out by Hasler to be his eventual successor at Manly just a few years ago.
Speaking to this masthead on Monday night about why he was backing himself to turn around the fortunes of the NRL’s perennial strugglers, Hannay said: “The club asked me if there was anything that worries me about the job. I said ‘worry’ wasn’t the right word.
Sharks assistant Josh Hannay will take over as Titans head coach on a three-year-deal.Credit: Getty Images
“There are definitely challenges. It’s never really worked, and nobody has ever been able to make it work on a consistent basis. I don’t go in with rose-coloured glasses. The challenge is real.
“The Titans are the only NRL club to offer something no other club can – and that’s a chance to go to a [first] grand final and win a competition. That opportunity doesn’t exist anywhere other than the Dolphins.
“That’s what I want to do.
“The club had clearly done their homework because it felt more like a discussion than an interview. I don’t know there is much more I can do in the game as an assistant to prove my readiness.
“I’ve had a lot of exposure to big-game football, a lot of finals series with the Sharks and Cowboys, and the last four Origin series with Queensland. We’ve won three of those series as underdogs. Unless you’ve had success at that level, you really don’t know what it looks like.”
Fa’asuamaleaui has been linked to the Perth Bears and seen as an ideal marquee signing, but Hannay is confident one of the game’s premier forwards will stay put.
Hannay said he had yet to speak with David Fifita, who has been granted an immediate release and already been sounded out by South Sydney.
“I worked with Tino in Queensland junior reps,” Hannay said. “I’ve maintained a relationship since he was a young lad, and based on our discussions, I know he has a lot of respect for me and I have a lot of respect for him as a man.
“I get all the noise around Tino at the moment. I think what Tino craves as much as anything is stability. Like all guys, they want to be at a club and in an environment that is stable and has a clear path forward. We’ve spoken several times.
“The challenge is to not only win games of football, but make all the guys on the Gold Coast feel like there is a way forward.
“I had a good chat with Jayden on Monday afternoon, and he also wanted to make sure there was a path forward.”
Hannay still has unfinished business at the Sharks, who remain a chance of finishing in the top four. He has made a pact with coach Craig Fitzgibbon to not cherry-pick the Shire’s best talent.
“There’s nothing in the contract, but I won’t poach anyone from under their nose, I’ve told ‘Fitzy’, ‘if there are players the club can’t afford to keep, please make sure we’re the first to know’.”
Hannay will need to appoint his assistants, but confirmed Foran, one of the modern era’s toughest players who will retire in a fortnight, will feature on his team.
Titans chief executive Steve Mitchell on Monday described Hannay as a “genuine player development coach” and pointed to his experience working with Titans players in Queensland camp.
“He has a genuine desire to come here to the coast and one of his primary drivers is to actually be the first to deliver success to the Gold Coast,” Mitchell said. “That’s a promise that we talk about a lot, but that is essential to his decision.”
At 64, Hasler will coach the club’s final two games against the Dolphins and Tigers to finish the season before exiting with a year remaining on his contract, which is worth around $1 million a year.
After a 14th-placed finish in 2024, the Gold Coast have won just five games this season.
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