Can David Fifita ever offer value for money to the Gold Coast Titans?

Gold Coast recruit David Fifita’s bid to justify his $1.2 million price tag is off to a shocking start – and things are about to get tougher writes David Riccio.

Gold Coast Titans training. New Titans recruit David Fifita at training on Thursday. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

David Fifita is a rare footballer with an overall package few rugby league players have shown us before.

A big man with brutal power, Fifita sits outside the bracket of most forwards. He is thick all over – through the chest, waist and legs. But the big difference is, where others drag their 107kg frame across the field, he can rip through gears from a standing-start.

The 21-year-old hits the defensive wall, crashes through and then thunders away from the fastest fullbacks.

When Fifita winds up, he runs like the galloper Holy Roller once did.

‘The Roller” is widely regarded as the biggest horse to race successfully. His head, at 50kg, was heavier than most jockeys frames, and his feet were trimmed as short as possible to fit into a size 8 shoe — three sizes bigger than a typical racehorse.

Holy Roller raced in the late 1990s and such was his massive size, he was nicknamed the Rampaging Elephant.

Well, the elephant for Fifita is now firmly in the room. He might be able to run like a thoroughbred, but only the best can run with the spotlight trained on their every move.

David Fifita’s physical gifts are not in question. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Already, the Titans decision to make Fifita the second-highest paid player in the NRL is being scrutinised. It’s off to a shocking start.

An investigation this week by the NRL Integrity Unit into the Titans and particularly Fifita have provoked more than just serious questions.

Not a club in the game would pay a player $3.5 million over three years for simply what they can deliver over 80 minutes. What that player can deliver a club in corporate backing, public image and memberships is just as important. And Fifita and the Titans have just failed their first assignment.

The Titans’ salary cap is being investigated over the payment of a $10,000 sum towards a security system at the Gold Coast property where Fifita was cautioned by police.

The Gold Coast club is now being probed by the NRL after a report in The Courier Mail claimed it paid the five-figure sum to owners of a property where Fifita trespassed on December 27. Titans did not disclose the payment to the NRL, it’s claimed.

If found to have broken league rules, the club could be sanctioned.

The investigation highlights other serious questions. Is Fifita – a backrow forward – truly worth $1.2 million per season? Positioned not in the middle of the field but out on the edge, he will have to wait for the ball to come to him.

David Fifita is more than a handful for opposition defences. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Ultimately, his teammates will dictate when he gets the ball.

So is he worth being paid above Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Nathan Cleary, James Tedesco and Jason Taumalolo? Or could he become the next Ben Hunt or Ash Taylor, weighed down by the pressure of a million-dollar contract?

Think what you like about Manly’s Daly Cherry-Evans, but not only does he bust his backside in every club game, he has managed to keep his own image, his club’s brand and that of the code in squeaky clean fashion for the NRL-high $1.25 million he’s earning each season at the Sea Eagles.

Taumalolo, boasting a $1m salary, was the only forward in the top 10 highest-paid players last year. He came in at ninth, with the remainder halfbacks, five-eighths and fullbacks.

Fifita missed the top 100, coming in at 116th with his $300,000 contract at the Brisbane Broncos. Six months later, he’s the second-highest paid player in the game.

Everyone wants the big bucks, but few can handle the pressure of the price tag. Every carry, every tackle, every step, every involvement, every Titans win and every loss will be measured and analysed.

There’s a reason the highest-paid players in the game are largely those who touch the ball most. And this is what is concerning if you’re a Fifita fan.

Of the entire playing roster, he was ranked 16th for possessions at the Broncos last year. If we look at backrower possessions only at the Broncos, the Brisbane halves hit Patrick Carrigan, Payne Haas and Tevita Pangai Jr with more passes than what they did for the Titans’ marquee signing.

As an edge backrower, the rate of clean ball Fifita receives at the Titans will be determined by Gold Coast halves Jamal Fogarty and Taylor.

Fifita’s recruitment adds pressure for playmaker Ash Taylor to ensure the big man sees plenty of ball. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt

With respect to those playmakers, Fogarty is 27 and has played 20 NRL games in two years while Taylor’s ability to handle pressure and play with consistency on the field each week are well documented.

Without singling out Fifita, Peter Mulholland, one of the game’s most respected talent scouts and who works for the Raiders, said simply: “You have to have a direct influence on every game you play to earn a million dollars – at least 75 per cent of the games.

“There’s only a couple of million-dollar players in our game who can turn a game. And Jack Wighton is slowly getting there, he’s not there yet, but he can turn a game.

“For the big-money earners, it’s about the mental and physical ability to handle pressure and expectation.’’

And that’s without mentioning dressing-room jealousy. It’s foolish to think teammates don’t compare salaries. No sooner are players on the bus after a game and they’re scrolling their phone for the latest of statistics.

This is the spotlight under which the NRL’s rich list of Hunt, Taylor, Tedesco, Tuivasa-Sheck and Cherry-Evans have played under for years. Now it’s Fifita’s turn.

Originally published as Can David Fifita ever offer value for money to the Gold Coast Titans?