Colossalbet Blog

Tag: NRL Analysis

  • Titans owner praises Des Hasler for transforming team

    Gold Coast Titans co-owner Darryl Kelly explains why he went hard for Des Hasler as head coach and why he has been a game-changer for the entire organisation.

    Gold Coast Titans co-owner Darryl Kelly went out on a limb when he chased Des Hasler as head coach, but he says it has already lifted the entire organisation ahead of a pivotal NRL season

    For more than a decade, Kelly has invested millions of dollars of his own funds and plenty of hard work besides to turn the Titans into a premiership force.

    The club has not won a finals match since 2010.

    The recruitment of Hasler on a three-year deal from 2024, which followed the sacking of former coach Justin Holbrook last season, was a bold move no-one in the game saw coming.

    From the outside, it appeared brutal but Kelly said the Titans had to make changes after failing to make a genuine impact on the NRL since their introduction in 2007.

    This season is the first time in Titans history they have had a premiership-winning coach. Hasler won titles at Manly in 2008 and 2011 and has been one of the NRL’s leading mentors for 20 years.

    Apart from veteran No.6 Kieran Foran, many of the key Titans players are young.

    Inspirational skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is 24. Gun centre AJ Brimson is 25. Queensland second-rower David Fifita is 24 and the list goes on. Kelly said they were now ready for the Hasler polish.

    “The option was to stay where we were and keep doing what we were doing … or go hard,” Kelly told AAP.

    “We made a conscious decision that we needed to move to a more proven coach in Des to see what we could do.

    “Especially with the young age demographic of the squad we’ve got. The next couple of years will determine how far this squad goes, so it was important to have an experienced coach we believe can get the best out of them.”

    Titans players have waxed lyrical about how Hasler has lifted intensity at training already, but Kelly said his influence went beyond that.

    “I have been impressed with Des with his work commitment and the level of expectation he brings to the whole organisation. It has already lifted us all to a higher level than ever before,” Kelly said.

    “If work produces results, and I believe it does, then it will produce results this year.

    “All of his coaching staff and support staff are working at a completely different level than ever before, and I have been at it for just over 10 years now.”

    The Titans kick off their season on Saturday at home against St George Illawarra.

    Not many pundits have the Titans in the top eight but that doesn’t worry Kelly. That will just feed into the siege mentality that Hasler and his teams tend to thrive on.

    “We want to be the dark horse and one of the unexpected surprises the opposition get when they walk on the paddock,” Kelly said.

  • NRL’s Manly retain Croker, McLean re-signs with Cowboys

    Manly have moved to re-sign Lachlan Croker only one day before rival NRL clubs can begin swooping on players coming into a contract season.

    Hooker Lachlan Croker will remain at Manly until the end of 2026 after the club announced his re-signing only one day before the player market opens.

    From November 1, clubs can begin formal negotiations with players who are out of contract at the end of 2024.

    But by securing Croker, their best-and-fairest player in 2022, Manly have retained their biggest name who had been set to hit the open market.

    Croker, who has played 104 of his 105 first-grade games for the Sea Eagles, has signed a two-year deal.

    Originally a half in Canberra’s junior system, Croker arrived at Manly in 2018 and has been a regular first-grader since 2020.

    He became starting hooker after Danny Levi left the club before the 2021 season and has become noted for his work rate in defence.

    “Lachlan has been one of our most consistent players over the last two seasons. It’s great for us to be able to extend him out for a further two years,’ coach Anthony Seibold said.

    “He has played over 100 games for our club now and is a great team man. You know what you are going to get with ‘Crokes’.”

    North Queensland have re-signed veteran prop Jordan McLean on a one-year contract that could see him through to retirement.

    The former Melbourne middle man will be 33 shortly after next season ends, but has proven he is still up to the rigours of first grade, starting 22 games this year.

    He averaged 111 run metres in 2023 and bolsters a middle rotation that also includes Jason Taumalolo, Reuben Cotter and Griffin Neame.

    Elsewhere, Newcastle have confirmed the signing of Penrith winger Tom Jenkins on a two-year contract from 2024.

    Stuck behind Brian To’o, Sunia Turuva and Taylan May, the Panthers had already confirmed Jenkins would not be at the club next year.

    He looms as a replacement option for Dominic Young, who has joined the Sydney Roosters.

  • Roosters’ tough contract calls with November arriving

    The Sydney Roosters face a big battle to retain their superstars as rival clubs begin pitching to off-contract players.

    Penrith’s triple premiership-winning five-eighth Jarome Luai headlines a list of more than 150 players who are contracted through 2024, but able to field rival offers for 2025 from November 1.

    Other big names include Newcastle’s recent State of Origin debutant Bradman Best, Brisbane’s grand-final standout Ezra Mam and crafty North Queensland five-eighth Tom Dearden.

    But Trent Robinson’s Roosters undoubtedly have the biggest pool of top-level talent hitting the open market as they look to string together a more consistent season in 2024.

    Five-eighth Luke Keary sits top of that list, with the club facing a difficult call over whether he and Sam Walker are the right halves pairing to inspire more premiership success.

    The perennial heavyweights have endured two up-and-down seasons and Keary, who has struggled with concussion in recent times, turns 32 in February.

    Roosters utility Joey Manu is an enticing prospect for rival clubs, able to play fullback at an elite level but stuck behind captain James Tedesco for that spot at Bondi.

    Manu – who has previously insisted he has no preference as to which position he plays – is tied to a Roosters deal worth an estimated $800,000 per season, big money for a centre.

    Roosters edge forward Angus Crichton has repeatedly been linked with a switch back to his boyhood code of rugby union, but talks of an immediate move have broken down.

    He remains contracted through 2024 on a reported $600,000 per year – another potential financial spanner in the works for the Tricolours if he opts against moving to the 15-man code.

    Stalwarts Nat Butcher and Daniel Tupou are also without deals beyond 2024, as is prop Terrell May, whose impact off the bench was vital as the Roosters made a late charge to the 2023 finals.

    Veteran prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves turns 35 in January and is off contract at the end of 2024, but appears likely to retire at season’s end.

    The Wests Tigers, Canterbury and St George Illawarra are all set to spring into action from November 1, eager to bolster their stocks following disappointing 2023 campaigns.

    Wednesday will be the first official day on the job for new Dragons coach Shane Flanagan and his Gold Coast counterpart Des Hasler.

    St George Illawarra are poised to make a serious play for Luai to start in the halves.

    The playing future of first-choice five-eighth Junior Amone is clouded following a guilty verdict in his recent assault trial, while halfback Ben Hunt has made no secret of his desire to leave the joint venture.