David Fifita contract: Titans poach Broncos star on $3.5m deal
It’s official! David Fifita is off to the Gold Coast. The signing is a significant blow for the Broncos, who are mired in one of the worst form slumps in the club’s 32-year history.
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The Gold Coast Titans have landed the biggest signing in their history by poaching Queensland Origin gun David Fifita from the Brisbane Broncos on a record $3.5 million deal.
Fifita has informed his Broncos teammates he will be leaving Red Hill to accept a three-year deal to join the Gold Coast from 2021.
The club confirmed the decision on social media on Saturday afternoon.
The Brisbane Broncos can confirm that David Fifita has chosen to leave the Club at the end of the 2020 seasonhttps://t.co/NWwFqd4gPQ pic.twitter.com/dgtjZ3JY1c
— Brisbane Broncos (@brisbanebroncos) July 25, 2020
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The signing is a significant blow for the Broncos, who are mired in one of the worst form slumps in the club’s 32-year history.
Fifita joining the Gold Coast would be a shot in the arm for the embattled Titans and, in turn, rock the NRL’s one-time glamour club the Broncos to its core.
The Titans celebrated the move on social media with a simple but telling post.
FIFITA IS IN.#ThruNThru
— Gold Coast Titans (@GCTitans) July 25, 2020
👉 https://t.co/FWLD8XvHgG pic.twitter.com/vWYTOv3iKc
Money is an obvious consideration for Fifita, with the Titans upping the ante again in recent days with a three-year package that begins at $1.25 million for next season and dwarfs Brisbane’s counteroffer.
Fifita would sacrifice almost $1 million over the three-year period by staying loyal to the Broncos.
But there are other critical factors in Fifita’s decision-making process, chiefly the hammer-blow to player morale at the Broncos and the fear he will not improve as a player under the coaching of Anthony Seibold.
Fifita finalised his decision with mother Gwen, who has played an active role in negotiations that have spanned six months, and Friday night’s 46-8 debacle against Melbourne has not helped Brisbane’s cause.
The 20-year-old is aware of internal ructions with a number of players unhappy in Brisbane’s current environment, their morale taking another hit against the Storm, which represented their eighth loss in nine games.
Several players are struggling with Seibold’s coaching style. Fifita has been weighing up whether Seibold is the right coach to take him to the next level as a player and whether he would receive better mentoring under Justin Holbrook at the Titans.
Broncos insiders remained hopeful of keeping Fifita but would not be surprised if he accepted the Gold Coast deal that would make him the joint highest-paid player in the code alongside Daly Cherry-Evans.
The Maroons hulk initially planned to sign a one-year deal but is now prepared to seek more security and ink a longer-term arrangement.
Brisbane board member Darren Lockyer conceded Brisbane can’t compete with Gold Coast’s millions.
“The one-year deal sounds like it has changed,” said Lockyer, also part of the club’s recruitment-and-retention committee.
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“He is taking his time to consider the deals at the Titans and Broncos.
“It’s a big decision for Dave and his family.
“We have been pretty upfront in saying we just can’t match what the Titans are offering.
“What I know about Dave is he is hugely talented, has a good attitude to his training and is a good competitor.
“When we talk about multi-year deals we need to make sure we’re comfortable with the person’s attitude and competitiveness. Dave ticks those boxes.
“We will put our best foot forward in terms of our offer to him and he’s got to make a decision on what he thinks is best for him and his family.”
Seibold refused to discuss Brisbane’s hopes of retaining Fifita after the Storm defeat, saying: “I’m not talking about that ... I’m here to talk about the game.”
Originally published as David Fifita contract: Titans poach Broncos star on $3.5m deal