Gold Coast coach Garth Brennan signs contract extension amid finals expectations

TITANS owner Darryl Kelly has challenged Garth Brennan to deliver the club a finals berth in 2019 after granting the Gold Coast coach a contract extension.

Titans coach Garth Brennan talking to the media. Picture: Jerad Williams

TITANS owner Darryl Kelly has challenged Garth Brennan to deliver the club a finals berth in 2019 after granting the Gold Coast coach a contract extension.

The Sunday Mail can reveal Brennan has secured a one-year extension that will keep him at the helm of the Titans until at least 2020.

Brennan had a performance clause in the two-year deal he originally signed to join the Titans, but club powerbrokers have opted to extend his tenure to bring stability to the Gold Coast.

The decision will allow Brennan to focus on next year without the worry of being off-contract after the Titans finished 14th last season in his first year at the club.

But the show of faith brings higher expectations with co-owner Kelly declaring he wants to see the Titans play finals football for the first time since 2016.

Brennan couldn’t take the Titans back to the finals in his first year as coach. AAP Image/Dave Hunt.

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“Garth was a first-year coach and has been reviewed,” he said.

“We believe he made some first-year coaching errors during the year. We’ve discussed those with him and expressed our point of view.

“He tried to spread himself too thinly. We want him to get back to coaching more and not worrying about some of the things he was worried about.

“A vast improvement (in the team’s performance) is exactly what I’m expecting and I’ve had those conversations.

“We’ve been talked about as having all this potential and it’s time to produce.

“It’s all about mindset and achieving the one-percenters. The level of professionalism needs to be lifted right across the organisation. That’s our focus for the next 12 months.

“The next step for us is the top eight and that would be a pass mark at this stage. It won’t be for much longer, but it will be for next year.”

The Titans showed some promising signs last season after Brennan took over the reins from sacked coach Neil Henry.

However their defence simply wasn’t good enough and offset any attacking brilliance as the Titans slumped to an 8-16 record.

Brennan has been handed a one-year extension. Picture by Jerad Williams.

Brennan unearthed some gems in young guns Jai Arrow, AJ Brimson and Phillip Sami, but his recruitment of Panthers forwards Bryce Cartwright and Leilani Latu backfired.

Brennan has signed former Test prop Shannon Boyd (Raiders), NSW Origin utility Tyrone Peachey (Panthers) and brought five-eighth Tyrone Roberts back to the club from Warrington to beef-up his squad.

Brennan, 46, said he has been buoyed by the contract extension but admitted he had to deliver next season.

“It’s a show of faith in me from the club which is pleasing,” he said.

“The club knows the results weren’t the best last year but the foundations were laid for us to build on.

“That’s what I said from day one - we’ve got to start from scratch. It’s not going to happen overnight.

“It’s about building foundations. We did that last year and this year will be another year of continuing to improve on what we’ve been doing.

Peachey is Gold Coast’s marquee recruit. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images.

“Our ambition is to play semi-final football and we’re no different to the other 15 clubs in the competition.”

The Titans will begin their 2019 campaign when the players report for pre-season training on Monday.

Executive chairman Dennis Watt said the decision to extend Brennan was to bring long-term certainty.

“It’s a vote of confidence from the club and board in Garth as an individual and also as a coach,” he said.

“We see him very much as a coach of the future. We’ve really liked what we’ve seen this year.

“We expect that he will be the long-term coach of the Titans. There is a lot to be said about not looking too short-term.

“At this stage we’re a bottom-of-the-table club but we certainly don’t intend staying there.

“We’re doing everything we can to be contending for the prize.”

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