‘Relentless’ Gold Coast Titans coach Des Hasler showing no signs of cracking amid wooden spoon, sacking pressure

If Des Hasler is about to be sacked by the Gold Coast, he certainly isn’t showing signs of cracking, with Titans players revealing the veteran coach hasn’t deviated from his ‘Mad Scientist’ ways.

Des Hasler has shown no signs of slowing down and is coaching as hard as ever in his bid to avoid a first NRL wooden spoon – and the sack.

Titans players have noticed no change in the fiercely competitive Hasler amid uncertainty around his future on the Gold Coast.

Despite being contracted until the end of 2026, Hasler has been widely-tipped to depart the Titans this year as the club hurtles towards a third wooden spoon in his second season in charge.

A former Titans coach packed up his office before he had been formally terminated, such was his acceptance that it was all over.

But Hasler’s actions are not those of a dead man walking – with the ‘Mad Scientist’ working as hard as ever to turn around Gold Coast’s fortunes.

Hasler orchestrated an upset win against the Warriors last weekend in his 500th match as an NRL head coach and can make his future even murkier for Gold Coast’s management by snapping Penrith’s seven-game winning streak at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – JULY 13: Titans coach Des Hasler speaks to the media after the round 19 NRL match between Gold Coast Titans and Brisbane Broncos at Cbus Super Stadium, on July 13, 2025, in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

When asked if he’d noticed a change in Hasler, Titans prop Jaimin Jolliffe said: “Honestly, no.

“There’s a lot of outside noise with what’s going on but he’s really good at blocking that and his approach has never changed.

“I’ve never worked with someone who’s worked so hard. He puts in countless hours and he cares so much about the team and the players.

“As a group, when you don’t get the result for him you’re really disappointed because he does work so hard.

“At the end of the day, he doesn’t take the field. We do, so it was really nice to get a win for him, but he doesn’t change.

“He is relentless in how he coaches and what he expects, so he honestly doesn’t change at all.

“He’s coaching like he’s fully invested in this group. He loves the team and he thinks we’re going in a direction and he believes in that.

“Results haven’t gone our way but he hasn’t faltered in what he believes in at all.”

While Hasler is set to become the fall guy for Gold Coast’s Des-astrous season, some of his players should feel responsible if he is given the punt.

The Titans have consistently produced error-riddled and ill-disciplined efforts, with a poorly balanced roster not helping Hasler’s cause following some questionable recruitment and retention decisions.

The Titans showed what they were capable of with a solid performance against the Warriors and are hoping to back that up against four-time premiers Penrith.

Jolliffe said the Titans were moving in the right direction under Hasler despite their lowly position on the ladder.

“That’s outside of my pay grade, that’s not for me, it’s for the club (to decide),” Jolliffe said when asked if it would be a mistake to sack Hasler.

“I think he’s taken us in a good direction in terms of building good habits, especially around our defence.

“It might sound a bit silly sitting where we are but we’re building good habits.”

Des Hasler is still as driven as ever. Picture: NRL Photos

Titans fullback AJ Brimson said Hasler hadn’t changed and was still “scary”, with the team making a secret pact to beat the Warriors for their coach’s milestone match.

“Dessie’s Dessie, the mad professor or scientist, whatever they call him,” Brimson said.

“He’s still just as invested, scary and funny as always.

“I haven’t seen any change in Dessie. He is 100 per cent committed and I haven’t seen anything other than that all year.

“We spoke about his 500th game without Des in the room and how important it was for us to try and get him a win.

“There’s things that he can’t control on the field. If we’re just going to be dropping the ball and missing tackles, that’s up to the individual in the game.

“The team loves and respects Dessie and we really spoke about trying to make it special for him, which he’s not big on, he is a pretty humble guy when it comes to that milestone.

“I’m glad we could make his 500th game a win.”