Blindside: Gold Coast Titans didn’t know who Anthony Seibold was when searching for new coach

YOU’D think due diligence was important when hiring a coach, but when the Gold Coast Titans were looking for a new leader they didn’t even know who Anthony Seibold was.

THE Gold Coast Titans missed out on making a play for new Broncos coach Anthony Seibold because powerful club figures did not know who he was.

Seibold this week inked a four-year deal to take over from Wayne Bennett as Brisbane’s head coach in 2020.

It has been a meteoric rise for the former Broncos reserve grader, who also completed assistant stints to Craig Bellamy at Melbourne and Kevin Walters in the Queensland Origin set up.

Here’s a hint for you, Titans. Seibold’s the bloke the in the middle.

Seibold was an assistant to Michael Maguire at South Sydney late in the 2017 season when the Titans were preparing to sack Neil Henry.

Blindside personally tipped off a high-ranking Titans official about the credentials of Seibold and urged the club to consider him as a possible replacement to Henry.

“Who is that?” replied the figure.

A few weeks later, the Rabbitohs sacked Maguire, partly because the club did not want to lose Seibold to another franchise while the Titans settled on Garth Brennan.

Seibold was crowned the Dally M coach of the year in 2018, his first season, and has now been snapped up by the Broncos.

The only photo known to man where Wayne Bennett looks happier than the other bloke, in this case Dragons CEO Peter Doust.

EARLY WORD ON WAYNE

FORMER NRL boss David Gallop and Dragons CEO Peter Doust had the ultimate inside scoop on Wayne Bennett’s signing with South Sydney.

Blindside can reveal Gallop and Doust were lunching with Souths general manager Shane Richardson last week when he had a phone hook-up with the Souths board to rubberstamp the Bennett deal.

It would have brought back fond memories for Doust, the CEO who brought Bennett to the Dragons in 2009, leading to the Red V’s fairytale premiership win the following year.

BARBA GOES BUSH

THE Mackay Rugby League is set for a huge boost with Cowboys recruit Ben Barba revealing he wants to finish his career in bush footy.

Barba was born and bred in Mackay and is keen to eventually give back to the region that helped develop him into a Dally M legend and one of rugby league’s greatest entertainers.

Ben Barba gets reacquainted with the flora of Mackay.

Barba turns 30 next June and plans to retire from the NRL at the end of 2021 before joining the Mackay competition to help the next generation.

“I’ve told myself 32 is probably the age I will retire and after that, I’d like to go back to my hometown of Mackay and play some local league,” he said.

“I haven’t had many injuries, touch wood, apart from my ankle at the Bulldogs (in 2013), so hopefully I have another two or three years in the game.

“That comes down to looking after your body as you get older and I’m doing that.

“Playing local footy in Mackay would be a great way for me to finish.”

TITANIC SHIFT OF STAFF

THE Titans have suffered a mass exodus of coaching staff.

Head coach Garth Brennan has farewelled fitness staff Hayden Knowles, Craig Catterick and Scott Campbell, who have all joined Penrith.

Brennan has welcomed back former Titans head trainer Dan Ferris from Manly ahead of pre-season training beginning next week and has also signed former referee Luke Phillips as a part-time ruck coach.

We reckon Graham Annesley thought about walking a long way away from the Titans at various points in his career.

NO BRIDGE TOO FAR FOR GRAHAM

FORMER Titans CEO Graham Annesley has continued his active lifestyle in Sydney.

Annesley was spotted walking over the Harbour Bridge on his way to NRL HQ for his first day as the game’s new head of football on Monday.

Annesley used to jog at 4.30am most mornings before heading to work at the Titans.

THEY’RE TAKING THE PISS

WHICH NRL player at a Queensland club answered a knock on his door at 9pm one night this week expecting it to be his Uber Eats delivery driver, only to be greeted by ASADA drug testing officials conducting random tests?

KELLY GANG RETURNS

MANLY centre Brian Kelly could be on his way back to the Gold Coast.

Kelly could seek a release to leave the Sea Eagles and the Titans are shaping as his likely destination.

The talented youngster played under-20s for the Titans before being poached by Manly, who he has played 47 NRL games for.

At 22, he would be a handy signing following the departure of Konrad Hurrell to Leeds.

We’re not sure what goes on at the Bankstown Express Business Achiever Awards but we’re not sure Gavin Orr (right) is overly happy about it.

SHOCK AND ORR ON SURVIVOR

ONE of the NRL’s leading player agents could be spearheading the next edition of Australian Survivor.

Gavin Orr, who manages some of rugby league’s biggest names including Jason Taumalolo and Valentine Holmes and former Titans star Mat Rogers, has been put forward as a contender for the next instalment of the hit reality TV show.

Rogers was a smash hit in the most recently completed series, filmed in Fiji, last month, impressing viewers with his guile, charm and strategy.

He was a major contender to win, only for swimming legend Shane Gould to take out the $500,000 prize.

Orr, who played first grade for Easts in the 1990s, had a health scare six months ago and family members are hopeful a stint on Survivor will see him become lean and mean.