Frizelle family to bring ruthless edge to Titans in bid for first premiership

The new owners of the Gold Coast Titans have wasted no time in stamping their authority after holding crisis talks and putting the club on notice.

Gold Coast’s new full owners have held crisis talks and put the entire club on notice as besieged coach Des Hasler fights for his future at the Titans.

This masthead can reveal owner Rebecca Frizelle and Titans chairman Dennis Watt held a meeting last week at Titans HQ to address all players and staff as the strife-torn Coast hurtle toward the third wooden spoon in their history.

The meeting came following news club saviour Darryl Kelly was selling his stake to the Frizelle family, headed by Rebecca and her husband Brett.

The Frizelles, among the most powerful business figures on the Gold Coast thanks to their car and property empire, are frustrated with the Titans’ performances and won’t tolerate mediocrity when a new era for the club begins in 2026.

Des Hasler, Rebecca Frizelle and Brett Frizelle. Picture: Portia Large

The Frizelles will be more hands-on next year.

The owners will move into the Titans football office to be visible to staff and drive the winning standards that have seen the Frizelles flourish in the cutthroat car dealership industry.

Players and staff were told to strive for excellence, and if they aren’t prepared to do whatever it takes to win the club’s first premiership, then hop off the Titans bus.

The Titans have already farewelled recruitment chief Ezra Howe and the future of CEO Steve Mitchell is now under the microscope following the club’s on-field struggles during his seven years in charge.

One of the Frizelles’ first major calls as sole owners will concern the future of coach Hasler, who has a clause that states he can be sacked if the Titans cannot make the top eight this season.

Despite uncertainty over his future, Hasler is adamant the Titans are in safe hands under the Frizelle ownership model.

“The mentality is really strong,” Hasler said.

“The future of the Titans is quite strong. We haven’t gone down the line of blaming injury, we pride ourselves on the next-man-up mentality.

“I know what’s in the four walls.”

Titans hierarchy are under mounting pressure to make a definitive call on Hasler in the wake of last Sunday’s loss to the Broncos which effectively torpedoed their finals hopes.

They face the battling Wests Tigers on Sunday and it is unlikely Hasler will be sacked before he reaches his 500-game NRL coaching milestone against the Warriors in New Zealand next weekend.

Watt was also a prominent figure at the meeting and has been chairman of the club for the past eight years, a period which has marked one of the most disappointing in the club’s 19-season history.

The club is headed for a second wooden spoon in six years, but Watt is confident the Frizelle regime can turn the Titans into a powerhouse.

“Of course a Gold Coast team can succeed,” he said.

“There will always be a Titans club, and not just because of the owners directly involved, but from the support that we get from Peter V’landys (ARL Commission boss), Andrew Abdo (NRL CEO) and the commission.

The Titans are locked in to the bottom of the table after 19 rounds. Picture: Getty Images

“They are wonderful advocates for a strong competitive team on the Gold Coast.

“It’s certainly an honour to those who’ve come before us and the current people here are determined to make it work.”

Retiring NRL great Kieran Foran has seen it all in a 17-season career across five clubs and said the Titans worked as hard as their rivals.

He will remain involved with Gold Coast next year to help transform the Titans into a premiership contender.

“It’s been tough, there’s no doubt about that. It’s been a disappointing season and certainly not the season we envisaged having,” he said.

“We worked incredibly hard in the pre-season and wanted to start strongly to give us every chance of competing and playing finals. That hasn’t worked out for some unknown reason.

“What I can say is I’ve been around footy a long time and the work we put in up here is no different to any other club I’ve been at. If anything, we work harder.

“The guys are incredibly invested. The people around the club want success more than anyone I’ve ever seen. The Gold Coast is crying out for it.

“Dessie is setting the standards for that every day. He works incredibly hard and has come here to bring success to the Titans.

“We are all a little bit unsure about why that’s happening at the minute. Sometimes you have to stay the course and eventually the tide turns.”

Originally published as Frizelle family to bring ruthless edge to Titans in bid for first premiership