Gold Coast Titans reveal reason for axing Justin Holbrook, defend Ben Hunt pursuit

The Gold Coast Titans CEO has revealed why the club dumped Justin Holbrook, while defending its pursuit of contracted Dragons star Ben Hunt.

• ‘Sacked after a win’: Holbrook reveals how Titans knifed him

Titans CEO Steve Mitchell has defended the club’s sudden decision to sack coach Justin Holbrook for Des Hasler and insisted Gold Coast hasn’t breached NRL contracting rules in their pursuit of Maroons star Ben Hunt.

Holbrook was given his marching orders on Thursday morning following three-and-a-half seasons in charge of the club, with assistant coach Jim Lenihan to step in as interim coach for the remainder of the year.

A 37.8 per cent winning record (31 wins, 51 losses) from 82 games since 2020 and worsening defensive statistics – the Titans have conceded an average 26.7 points per match this season – were the main reasons behind Holbrook’s demise.

He was brutally sacked with no warning after Titans hierarchy brokered a three-year contract with two-time NRL premiership-winning coach Hasler behind Holbrook’s back.

Strangely, Holbrook’s last game in charge of the Titans was a 28-12 win against Wests Tigers a fortnight ago.

But Mitchell said the Titans were not satisfied with the team’s progress under Holbrook as the club chases two NRL premierships by 2030.

Titans CEO Steve Mitchell. Picture: Nigel Hallett

“Our program’s not achieving what we want it to achieve, nor is it fulfilling the promises we made to our rugby league community,” he said.

“We’ve done a lot of review over the last 18 months. We’ve built out specific areas of the program, looked at our roster, high performance areas, the way we’re resourced and what we were doing.

“We think we’ve got large chunks of that program right. The piece we don’t know we’ve got right at the moment is how the playing group is being brought forward.

“We think we need a winner in that place and someone who’s got the IP (intellectual property) and has been to grand finals.

“The time is now.”

Mitchell said he made an approach to Hasler, who was sacked by Manly last year, and the Titans are believed to have been in secret negotiations with the 458-game coach for close to a fortnight before agreeing to a three-year deal on Wednesday.

Holbrook becomes the fourth coach to be sacked by the Titans in the club’s 16-year history, following John Cartwright (2014), Neil Henry (2017) and Garth Brennan (2019).

Five coaches in 10 years is far from the right recipe for success, but Mitchell said decision-makers at the club were unlikely to be made accountable despite their numerous failed coaching appointments.

Gold Coast is interested in signing Ben Hunt.

“I feel responsibility in the fact we’ve got an obligation to create a football environment whereby these athletes, and we’ve got a wonderful roster, have the best opportunity to become the best players in their own right and achieve what they can achieve,“ he said.

“We feel we haven’t created that environment and we think Des will bring that. His experience and those decades of coaching, his winning ways and DNA.

“It’s very unusual to have a coach of Des’ ilk in the market where he is non-employed. Sometimes timing is everything.

“The club is moving strongly in a direction. We need to get our high performance program right.”

Hunt has been linked with a move to the Gold Coast after requesting a release from the final two years of his St George Illawarra contract, with a preference to return to Queensland.

Hunt told this masthead he fielded an approach from the Titans last month gauging his interest in a move to the Gold Coast, but Mitchell insisted that wasn’t the case.

“We can’t talk to Ben about his current contract, nor should we, nor will we,” he said.

“That would be a consideration and conversation for a later time should he secure a release from St George.

“He hasn’t had a call from the club. There’s certainly been a lot of talk in the media about who he’s calling, his intent and where he wants to go. There’s a lot of noise in the market.

“He hasn’t called me. He hasn’t called anyone at my club.”

BEN HUNT: ‘PRIORITY IS TO COME HOME’

- Peter Badel

Ben Hunt has declared he is committed to the Dragons this week but says he is ready to come home to Queensland — opening the door for a shock move to the Gold Coast Titans.

Breaking his silence on his Dragons future following the Maroons’ epic 32-6 defeat of NSW in Origin II, Hunt confirmed he wants out of St George Illawarra and says his preference is to return to Queensland.

But the Queensland Origin hooker rubbished suggestions he has played his last game for the Dragons as he prepares for crisis talks with club bosses and new coach Shane Flanagan on Monday.

The strife-torn Dragons face the Warriors on Friday night at WIN Stadium and Hunt says he will run out in the Red V No.7 jumper if he pulls up well from Queensland’s victory over the Blues in Origin II.

“Yeah I will play Friday,” said Hunt, speaking for the first time since his bombshell request for a release last Saturday midway through Origin camp.

“I had a good conversation with Ryan Carr (interim coach) on Monday.

“He said will I come down and play and I said as long as I get through Origin fit, I will definitely come down and play, so that’s what I’m doing.

“I don’t know where all that (Hunt not returning to the Dragons) has come from.

“I would never be a guy to do that to my teammates where I just drop it and walk away.

“I will turn up and play as long as I’m there.”

How long Hunt remains at the joint-venture club is the $1 million question.

Flanagan, who will take charge of the Dragons on a three-year deal from 2024, will meet with Hunt on Monday to thrash out his grievances, but the 33-year-old concedes he is on borrowed time at the Red V.

The former Broncos playmaker says his preference is to return to Queensland, putting the Titans firmly in the box seat to win Hunt’s signature ahead of Phil Gould’s Bulldogs.

Wayne Bennett has ruled out making a big-money play to bring Hunt to the Dolphins, the Broncos have Adam Reynolds and the Cowboys have salary-cap issues — leaving the Titans as the only realistic Queensland destination.

As revealed by News Corp last week, the Titans have made fresh inquiries armed with a $900,000-a-season deal.

“The priority is to come home to Queensland. That’s where we want to be,” Hunt said.

“I have missed the support networks with family and the weather is always nice.

“Myself and my partner, our families are here and my family is in central Queensland, so being in Sydney we’re a long long way. We’ve enjoyed our time in Sydney but we’re ready to come home.

“Surely there’s no cap room at the Broncos, they are loaded.

“I have a meeting with the club on Monday and ‘Flanno’. We will sit down with them and work through it.

“I’m just hopeful they (the Dragons) listen. We’ll see how we go.”

Hunt inked a two-year extension with the Dragons until the end of 2025 in October, but since that time the Dragons have plunged further into chaos, headlined by the recent sacking of coach Anthony Griffin.

Hunt is a massive fan of Griffin and the halfback said he hoped his upgraded deal would trigger further signings and stability for the Dragons — but that hadn’t happened.

“There’s been a lot building up the last couple of months to be honest,” he said.

“It wasn’t something that has just come out of nowhere.

“There’s been a lot of build up to it and it’s got to a point where I felt I needed to get out.

“I know it wasn’t the best timing (during Origin camp), but it got out there.

“It was a crazy couple of days early in camp but it got to the weekend and I put all that behind me and focused on the game.”

Asked to explain why he wants out, Hunt said: “There wasn’t one thing in particular, mate. It’s been a lot of stuff over a long period of time.

“When I signed, there was a lot going on. They wanted to get me signed first to get it sorted out so they could start making recruitment decisions and it’s gone nowhere. I don’t know. It’s tough to answer.

“I just thought once I signed there would be a snowball effect and a few things would happen, but it hasn’t happened.

“I’ve chatted to ‘Hook’ (Griffin), not about this, just more of a call to have a yarn to see how he is going and to talk about life.

“He is someone I will probably lean on in the next few weeks.”

Hunt, who joined the Dragons on a mega $6 million deal in 2018, said he was happy to keep the captaincy, but was prepared to accept being axed if St George Illawarra wanted to expedite a leadership succession plan.

“If they want to hand the captaincy over to someone else, then that’s fine, I will support that and support whoever it is,” he said.

“But at the moment I will do my best for my teammates.

“If I’m still the captain, I will do the best I can.

“I definitely understand why the Dragons fans can be upset. I totally understand that. But it’s not like it’s come out of nowhere, there’s been a lot happening at the club, they have been really good to me the fans.

“I appreciate that, but this is a decision I’ve had to make.”

Hunt slammed speculation he was so desperate to leave the Dragons he has offered up to $150,000 in compensation to accelerate a switch of clubs.

“There’s been a few things that have come out this week that I don’t know where they come from and that’s one of them,” he said.

“I’ll get down and talk to the Dragons and see where we go.”

The Titans signed Kieran Foran this season and Hunt would give the Gold Coast an experienced No.7 with grand-final experience in the club’s quest to win a watershed premiership.

Hunt turns 34 next March and insists he is not on his last legs, revealing he could play until 2026.

“To be honest, I haven’t considered anyone,” he said when asked if the Titans are his preference.

“All the Queensland teams are in good positions, so I haven’t considered anyone.

“My focus has been on Origin and working stuff out with the Dragons. I won’t look into the other clubs until I have a conversation with the Dragons.

“I definitely have two more years, maybe three. I still feel all right. I have been very lucky through my career with injuries. I have been pretty healthy so I wouldn’t rule out three more years.

“It’s every player’s dream to win a premiership so that will come into it for sure.

“I have put a lot of thought into it and what comes first to me is always my family.

“We are just ready to get out and come home.”