David Fifita contract: Titans eye more recruits after signing coup
The Gold Coast have struck a huge blow by luring David Fifita on the back of some astute signings for 2021 — and there is more to come on the recruitment front.
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Titans coach Justin Holbrook has defended the Gold Coast’s $3.5 million signing of Broncos star David Fifta as Immortal Mal Meninga declared he had more big-name recruits in his sights.
Fifita has quit the Broncos to sign a record three-year deal with the Titans which will see the Queensland Origin star pocket a remarkable $1.25 million in 2021.
At age 20, Fifita will be one of the highest-paid players in the NRL next year and eclipse the $1.2 million the Titans outlaid to bring Jarryd Hayne back from the NFL.
Fifita’s Titans contract is front-ended to entice him to the Gold Coast and drops to about $1.1 million-a-year for 2022-23.
League heavyweight Phil Gould labelled the Titans’ offer for Fifita “totally irresponsible” and the club has been criticised for tabling such a big contract to a 37-game edge back-rower.
But Holbrook explained the reasons behind the offer and said he was comfortable with the Gold Coast’s salary cap and recruitment strategy.
“He is the best young forward in our game, I’m comfortable with our approach there,” he told News Corp.
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“With the bigger dollars you’re talking about you want them to be game changers, not necessarily what position they play.
“Dave is one of those players. Go back to round one where he made that break against the Cowboys and runs around the fullback.
“I’m not disagreeing with you, you want to spend in the right areas on key playmakers. But I feel we’re good in those positions.
“Having a real power forward, which we’re getting with Tino (Fa’asuamaleaui) and Herman (Ese’ese) as well, puts us in a really good position.
“We’re getting the right people at our club and that’s what we want.”
The Titans have earned a reputation for making poor recruitment decisions and their opponents at Cbus Super Stadium on Sunday, Penrith, took full advantage of that.
Gould, Penrith’s former football boss, offloaded Bryce Cartwright, Leilani Latu and Mitch Rein to the Gold Coast in 2018 after Panthers assistant Garth Brennan was appointed head coach of the Titans.
The Titans also signed Tyrone Peachey from Penrith on a $1.5 million deal and will this week finalise an agreement to release $2.4 million flop Shannon Boyd from his contract.
The Titans have made some astute signings for 2021 in poaching Fa’asuamaleaui from Melbourne and Ese’ese from the Knights and the acquisition of Fifita will give them a genuine marquee recruit.
And they’re not done yet according to Meninga, the club’s head of performance and culture.
“It’s a great signing for the club,” Meninga told Fox League.
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“With all humility and respect, the Fifita family has handled it really well. Dave and his mum Gwen and all their family have handled the tough circumstances.
“It’s been played out a fair bit in the media, but what a great acquisition for the club.
“He’s coming down to play with some of his mates from the old Keebra Park days. It’s a really good sign for us moving forward.
“We’re really happy with the way we’re moving but we won’t stand still.
“We want to see a successful Titans outfit and we’re building quite nicely. It’s taken a while but we’re on our way.
“It’s only the start of what we’re trying to achieve.”
Holbrook said he was intent on turning around the Gold Coast’s reputation for making poor recruitment decisions.
“That’s not the case now and we’re showing that by who we’re signing,” he said.
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“That’s absolutely crucial. We’re on the right track with recruitment.
“I’m excited about what we’re doing there. We’ve made some great signings.
“You can never get it completely right, but we’ve got a really good process with our recruitment now.
“We’ve got a team of us together and that’s the key. If you don’t get it right it hurts you so much.
“We want to be doing our best to get the balance of our squad right and we’re working towards that.
“Herman is at a top four club that’s a chance of winning a comp and he was happy to come to us and Tino is coming out of the Melbourne Storm.
“Tino talks about what he’s learning and how he wants to bring it to us next year. It’s a really good future for us with those boys joining us.
“The key for me is getting the right people at our club. I’m confident in what we’ve done.”