Walker brothers confident they can solve the David Fifita riddle

The Walkers brothers have contacted the Titans to lodge their interest in coaching Gold Coast, and a key part of their pitch involves how they would help Dave Fifita find his mojo again.

Gold Coast coaching hopefuls Ben and Shane Walker promise they can save Dave Fifita’s career amid fears the troubled $1 million forward has lost desire due to a toxic rift with Titans coach Des Hasler.

This masthead can reveal the Walkers brothers have contacted Titans chairman Dennis Watt to lodge their interest in coaching Gold Coast should the club part ways with Hasler in the coming weeks.

At the heart of Hasler’s problems at Parkwood is his relationship with Fifita, which appears fractured beyond repair as intrigue surrounds the forward’s playing future at the Titans.

Fifita has endured a nightmare 2025 campaign marred by a mysterious ankle problem, compounded by his axing in round 9 as Hasler struggled to get the former Queensland Origin star firing.

In the wake of his demotion, Fifita told this masthead in an exclusive interview that the “real truth will come out one day”, fuelling speculation his relationship with Hasler is untenable.

Former Ipswich Jets co-coaches Shane and Ben Walker are keen to take over at the Titans.

When he sensationally quit the Broncos to join the Titans in 2021 on a mega $3.5 million deal, Fifita was hailed as the superstar young forward who would spearhead a maiden premiership era on the Gold Coast.

Instead, Fifita’s tenure on the Glitter Strip is largely regarded as a Titanic failure.

He is just 10 games away from reaching the 100-match milestone for the club but at this stage, no coach has been able to solve the Fifita riddle.

The Walkers, who won a Queensland Cup premiership with Ipswich in 2015 and turned Kurt Capewell from Broncos under-20s reject to Queensland Origin star, are adamant they can fix Fifita.

“We would find the key to unlock David Fifita, no question,” Ben Walker said.

“Kurt Capewell is proof we can save a career.

“He had two stints in the under-20s with the Broncos and Roosters and when the Roosters let him go, he was done. But he came to us at Ipswich and the rest is history.

“Look at him now. He is an Origin player.

“Poor Dave Fifita has been battered and pushed around.

“We would need to meet with Fifita and find out what makes him tick, but we tend to get the best out of anyone we coach.

“If we couldn’t get the best out of Dave, it would be a failure on us.

“David Fifita is a rare talent and I know we would get the best out of him for the Titans.”

David Fifita and the Titans are at loggerheads. Picture: Getty Images

Fifita is off-contract next year and with every passing week, his future at the Titans becomes more vexing.

For the past two months, the 25-year-old has appeared to thumb his nose at Hasler, seemingly boycotting matches and at loggerheads with Titans medicos over the health of his ankle, which required an operation in a disrupted 2025 pre-season.

Gold Coast’s high-performance team cleared Fifita to play against Melbourne in round 13. Fifita insisted his ankle wasn’t ready. He didn’t appear until round 19 against Brisbane.

Now, after 43 minutes of action, he is sidelined again.

Incredibly, Fifita scored two hat-tricks in his first seven games in Titans colours after arriving from the Broncos. That underscored his rare talent.

Four games later, he was benched by former Titans coach Holbrook and the back-rower even spent time in the centres, further denting his confidence.

Walker, who played 135 NRL games and was once groomed by Wayne Bennett to succeed the legendary Allan Langer at the Broncos, is dismayed by Gold Coast’s treatment of Fifita.

“We would never bench David Fifita,” he said.

“It’s nonsense.

“I’m not a big believer in benching your best players.

“If Dave Fifita is one of their highest-paid players, then use him properly.

“As a coach, if you are picking a player and he doesn’t perform, that’s on the coach, I believe, more than the player.

“It’s up to the coach to get the best out of players. If the coach puts faith in someone and it doesn’t work out on the field, then the coach has made the error putting him out there.

“We would never bench someone because they made a few errors.”

Gold Coast’s inaugural football manager Scott Sattler believes Fifita needs to quit the Titans to save his career.

“I am a big Dave Fifita fan and I want to see him dominate again,” he said.

“It’s not too late to create a great legacy.

“It comes down to the coach and if he has the connection with Dave and find that mojo when he’s fully fit.

“There is part of me that thinks Dave needs to get away from southeast Queensland and its creature comforts.

“There’s too many familiarities and by getting away he can have a greater focus, start again and find maturity in his game.

“He’s definitely at the right age now to flourish.”

Walker scoffed at suggestions Fifita is too lazy to succeed in the NRL.

“I have played with guys at the Broncos who weren’t the best trainers or didn’t have the best work ethic but throw them the ball on the field and they would win you the game,” he said.

“Wayne Bennett knew how to manage those guys. We aren’t all the same.

“At Ipswich, no-one else wanted to give Marmin Barba a chance, but we showed faith in him and he scored 70 tries and won us a comp.

“No-one was ever unhappy at the Jets and there were times when guys had struggles in their lives, but if you care about the player, which Shane and I do, we would try and help them.

“It’s really important just to find out how to make people happy. You can’t treat everybody the same. Some are great trainer, some are not so good, but you find out what works for them and play to their strengths.

“Dave is super talented. You play to his strengths, you know what he doesn’t do and probably won’t ever do, but he does have X-factor and he’s got stuff you can’t coach.”