No place for mediocrity as Titans culture boss Mal Meninga turns up heat on his Gold Coast stars

For the past decade the Titans have been the whipping boys of the NRL. But Titans culture boss Mal Meninga says the Gold Coast are now in a position to win premierships.

Time to make a stand: David Fifita is tackled during the a trial match against the New Zealand Warriors in Lismore late last month.

Titans culture boss Mal Meninga says it’s time to earn respect and has challenged Titans stars to end a decade of mediocrity by breaking the club’s premiership duck this season.

The recruitment of Queensland Origin stars David Fifita and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui has fuelled hopes the regenerated Titans will charge into the finals and be the NRL’s breakout team.

But on the eve of Saturday’s season-opener against the Warriors at Central Coast Stadium, Meninga has drawn a cultural line in the sand, saying the Titans must turn potential into title-winning performances.

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Since their 2007 inception, the Titans have won no premierships, claimed two wooden-spoons and qualified for the finals once in the past 10 seasons.

But last year’s ninth-placing under Justin Holbrook showed signs of a revival.

Now, having helped orchestrate two of the biggest signings in the club’s history, Meninga urged Titans top-liners to awaken the NRL’s sleeping giant.

“Our target is to win comps,” Meninga said. “I’m not going to shy away from that, we want to win premierships but a lot of things have to fall your way, you need luck with injuries.

“If you don’t make the finals, you are no chance of winning the competition, so it’s important we start well this season and build some momentum.

“Our vision is to be a dominant club, we want to be pushing for finals footy every year and putting ourselves in the picture to win premierships.

Titans culture chief Mal Meninga has put the club in a position to be a finals force.

“The whole ecosystem of the club has to be healthy. To be challenging for comps, you have to have the right processes on and off the field. It’s much bigger than just the playing group.

“Clubs are judged by results on the field but without the right structures off the field, you don’t win premierships.”

The challenge for the Titans will be handling fresh levels of expectation. Last season, they won five consecutive games when the finals were out of reach and NRL rivals did not fear them as a premiership force.

But this year, Meninga accepts the Titans have a target on their backs, with a quality pack headlined by Fifita and Fa’asuamaleaui.

“It’s time for us to earn respect,” he said. “The Titans started to get that at the back end of last year, so that’s why it’s important we start this year in the right fashion and have a strong season. A good start … will build on that respect for the club.

“The way we finished last year was exciting, but the expectation is to go on with it.

“I expect David and Tino to do their job within the team collective. With more experience, I have no doubt David and Tino will be better players and we believe we have the right coaching staff to further their careers.”