Titans leading the way during period of transition for Queensland NRL clubs
IT is a period of transition at all three Queensland NRL clubs — and for once, the Gold Coast look to be ahead of Brisbane and North Queensland, writes MAL MENINGA.
Opinion
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WHILE Queensland’s three NRL clubs are having very different seasons, in some respects, there are a lot of similarities between the Broncos, Titans and Cowboys.
On the surface, their 2018 seasons are pretty easy to define.
Brisbane are finals-bound again, and enjoying a pretty positive year.
The Titans are rebuilding, and showing the occasional glimpse of what they are capable of.
The Cowboys? Well, they’re having the season from hell.
The truth, though, is that all three Queensland clubs are in a state of transition at the moment — although their reasons for change, and their position on that journey, are in different stages.
The Titans, funnily enough, are the ones that are furthest in front in their transition process.
They have undergone a massive overhaul over the past couple of years, with a change in club ownership, a new coach and new off-field staff, new administrators and a significant change in the playing group as well.
It is easy to feel positive about the Titans after the good win they had last weekend against the Warriors, but I truly believe that they seem to be handling their transition period better than the Broncos or Cowboys.
The win over the Warriors, like the victory over the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium at the start of the year, shows what the Gold Coast is capable of on the field when they are at their best.
Their biggest problem in inconsistency, which is a common issue for any team that has a lot of inexperienced players.
The good news for the Gold Coast is that experience and consistency will come to them with time.
Importantly, the club is now stable, and has a good group of talented young players who will grow and improve together, and some quality signings coming to join them in 2019.
The Titans are moving up.
The Cowboys by comparison are just beginning that upward climb in their transition phase.
After last year’s results, this was the year many of us thought the Cowboys would be peaking. But their run to last year’s grand final papered over a lot of cracks that have been exposed this year.
While making the grand final last year was tremendous, it is easy to forget that the Cowboys fell into the top eight. If the Dragons had won in the last round last year, the Cowboys would have missed the eight.
They were lucky, and made the most of the chance they were given.
But the celebrations and congratulations about their marvellous run in the finals made everyone forget about the reasons why they almost missed the finals in the first place — an ageing roster running on tired legs.
Those problems did not go away in the off-season. They were ignored again in the romance of everyone wishing for a fairytale farewell for Johnathan Thurston.
But the Cowboys are now addressing the issue, and have begun rebuilding their roster around a group of younger players. It is a process that will take some time, and can be painful.
The Cowboys have initiated an internal review to explain why this season has fallen apart so badly.
Truthfully, I reckon they already know and want a transparent process that will appease the sponsors and fans.
Paul Green is a very smart coach. He is always trying to improve himself and already knows what the issue is, and has started moving players on to remedy the situation.
This season has been about the Cowboys taking their medicine.
The Broncos, meanwhile, have been able to take their medicine by rebuilding their squad, but remarkably continue winning at the same time.
The arrival of young players like Jamayne Isaako, Joe Ofahengaue, Tevita Pangai Jr and Jaydn Su’a in the full-time NRL squad has been managed around a group of very experienced players like Josh McGuire, Andrew McCullough and Darius Boyd to ensure the club stays on track while the new crop is bedded down.
The Broncos’ playing list is looking very strong for the next five years at least. But Brisbane’s transition period is centred around their coach, not their players.
The speculation about Wayne Bennett’s future at the club and who — if anyone — will replace him as coach beyond 2019 has brought a degree of instability around Brisbane.
They are at the very start of a transition cycle.
Broncos officials are understandably taking their time making a decision about who will coach the club in 2020 and beyond because the last time they planned for “life after Wayne”, they handled it very poorly.
This time around, Brisbane will have learnt their lessons from the Ivan Henjak and Anthony Griffin eras. They will not make the mistake of trying to replace a giant with a coaching novice again.
Who it will be is anyone’s guess.
But watching the Broncos begin a new era under a new coach, with his own ideas about how things should be done and the culture he wants to create, could make Brisbane’s transition period the most interesting one of all.
Originally published as Titans leading the way during period of transition for Queensland NRL clubs