Darren Lockyer says pressure will be on David Fifita every week after signing big-money Titans deal
Broncos legend and board member Darren Lockyer reveals why David Fifita’s groundbreaking defection to the Gold Coast Titans will leave him exposed like he never was in Brisbane.
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Brisbane’s former golden boy Darren Lockyer has warned David Fifita there will be nowhere to hide at the Titans as the highest-paid forward in the NRL next season.
Underscoring the salary boom in today’s game, Fifita will join the Titans on a $1.25 million deal - more than double the $600,000 Lockyer earned when he led the Broncos to their most recent premiership in 2006.
At his pomp, Lockyer was among the top earners in the NRL alongside the likes of Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler and all three had to cope with the burden of expectation as highly-paid superstars.
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Currently on $300,000, Fifita’s salary will increase by a staggering 300 per cent next year.
The first season of his three-year Titans deal will make him the joint highest-paid player in the NRL with Daly Cherry-Evans and Lockyer says Fifita’s seven-figure contract will mean the back-rower must perform every week.
“That’s what comes with the $1 million deals,” said Lockyer, now a Broncos board member.
“There are a few guys in the game now earning $1 million deals or more and for them it’s on every week - you have to deliver each week.
“When they don’t or their team isn’t winning, the first people that get mentioned are the players earning the big dollars.
“It’s going to be part of his learning curve. It will be good for his development learning to cope with that pressure.”
While his pay packet applied pressure, Lockyer says he felt more burdened by the famous Broncos brand and upholding the performance benchmarks expected of a Brisbane captain.
“I did feel the expectation of playing for the Broncos,” he said.
“When you are a senior player and the captain, there is always that expectation and pressure there, but I never felt like I was under pressure because of what I was being paid.
“The money in the game now is huge - there’s big dollars at stake.”
Broncos veteran Darius Boyd believes Fifita can cope with the responsibility of spearheading a Titans finals campaign next year.
“There is an expectation through the media about the guys being paid big money performing,” he said.
“It’s well publicised all the time that the guys who earn more money are spoken about more and judged more critically than guys who earn less money.
“I understand that, whether it’s right or wrong, it’s going to be spoken about Dave when he goes to the Titans.
“But at the end of the day, he is going to get better as a player and a guy like Mal Meninga (Titans culture chief) can really help him out support wise and growing his game.”
Broncos chairman Karl Morris is adamant Fifita only quit the NRL‘s richest club because of money.
“At the end of the day it was a financial decision for Dave,” he said.
“I‘m not aware of Dave having an issue with the club, we had more than 20 meetings with the club and the only issue I kept hearing was that we were a long way shy of what the Titans and other clubs were prepared to pay.
“What else could we offer him other than more money? It just came down to money.”
‘Same aura’: Legend’s titanic Fifita signing call
Broncos legend Gorden Tallis says the Titans’ signing of David Fifita is as significant as Mal Meninga’s move to Canberra and believes the Queensland Origin star will turn the Gold Coast into a premiership force.
As the Broncos pick up the pieces from Fifita’s big-money defection, Tallis declared the 107kg wrecking ball will transform the Titans in the same way Meninga helped bring title success to the Green Machine.
Meninga joined the Raiders in 1986 after a stellar career in the Brisbane State League and he made an instant impact in the nation’s capital, captaining Canberra to three premierships - including their maiden title in 1989.
Now, three decades later, Meninga is the culture boss at the Titans and he was the architect of the club-record three-year, $3.5 million contract that convinced Fifita to take a leap of faith by quitting the Broncos.
The Titans have been NRL whipping boys for the best part of a decade and while there is a view Fifita‘s $1.25 million salary next year will be a crushing burden, Tallis says he is Gold Coast’s new age Meninga.
“I am excited because I honestly think Dave Fifita’s signing for the Titans is as big as Mal Meninga’s signing for the Raiders all those years ago,” Tallis said.
“Mal Meninga had a rare aura about him and in my brief meetings with Dave, he just has this presence about him.
“There is no doubt Dave has this ability to inspire players around him and make guys feel comfortable.
“There are some special players like Mal Meninga, Sam Burgess or Greg Inglis where as a teammate, when you look to your side and see them beside you, you take comfort knowing you are beside a guy who can win you games.
“Dave Fifita has that same aura and presence - and he can turn the Titans into a force.”
There are historical links between Meninga and Fifita.
Prior to his move to Canberra, Meninga was a formidable sight for Souths at Davies Park in the inner-city Brisbane suburb of West End and Fifita later graced the same venue in his junior days with Souths Logan Magpies.
When Fifita skippered Souths Logan to victory in the under-18s Mal Meninga Cup grand final two years ago, Meninga was there to shake his hand and present him with the trophy named after him.
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Still just 20, Fifita’s NRL career is only 37 games old, but former Broncos, Queensland and Australian skipper Tallis believes the hulking back-rower has the gifts to usurp ‘The Raging Bull’.
“Dave can be better than me,” Tallis said.
“He has more natural talent than me, but that doesn’t just guarantee you will succeed. Cameron Smith is not the most naturally talented footballer but his football brain is remarkable.
“The Titans’ owners have made a statement that they care about the club and the direction of the place and now, signing Fifita, everyone will sit up and take notice.
“I work on Triple M radio and I have worked with guys who joke they will have a sex change if the Titans win five games in a row.
“But with Fifita on board, I can guarantee those silly bets and comments will change, especially with guys like Tino (Fa’asuamaleaui), Herman (Ese’ese) and Keegan Hipgrave at the Titans next season.
“There are a lot of young players these days think they know everything. What impressed me with Dave in our few meetings is that he was just a big sponge soaking in all the information. He doesn’t need too much help, let me tell you, the things that took me a whole career to work out Dave already has down pat.
“Dave is blessed with speed and his genetics are unbelievable, but he’s no dummy. He has a knack of when the get the ball and how to use his body to break tackles and the ability to think on his feet quickly for a forward.
“David Fifita is a special talent with the football in his hands, he is a bloody smart kid.”