Gold Coast Titans chairwoman Rebecca Frizelle ranks second in our sport Power 50

WHEN Rebecca Frizelle is asked about her part in rescuing the Titans, she deflects the attention with typical modesty.

WHEN Rebecca Frizelle is asked about her part in rescuing the Titans, she deflects the attention with typical modesty.

Fellow co-owner Darryl Kelly, chief executive Graham Annesley, coach Garth Brennan, the board and staff all get considerable wraps as Frizelle talks about the team beyond the team of 17 players that turn up on the field each weekend.

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But the fact of the matter is Frizelle is the face of the Gold Coast NRL club’s administration and her role cannot be understated.

A leading businesswoman away from the sporting realm, Frizelle is a figure who commands respect.

She became the NRL’s first female club chairperson in 2014 before stepping down last September to launch her bid to co-purchase the Titans that was confirmed successful three months later.

Gold Coast Titans co-owner Rebecca Frizelle. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Rugby league has proven to be a fulfilling element of Frizelle’s life despite her openly admitting it was not a love of the sport that initially secured her involvement.

“I didn’t have a great passion for rugby league or a great understanding of the game; what I did have was a strong passion for the Gold Coast and I saw the Titans as an integral part of the city and its growth,” she said.

“Luckily I’ve improved my knowledge since then.

“At the time, the club, for various reasons, was suffering great reputational damage. I felt we had to do what we could to protect it and ensure its future on the Coast.

“I could either be one of the knockers or I could stand up and have a go because our city deserves a national team to be based here and to be successful.

Rebecca Frizelle. Picture: Nigel Hallett

“Our club and our people do so much great work across many different important community sectors. Sport brings so much hope and I think it has the capacity to unite our city.

“It brings everyone together, no matter what your demographic is, no matter what your challenges are in life or who you are – for that hour and a half we are all united on the one page and that’s the real power of sport.”

Frizelle sees parallels in the growth of the Titans – still a relatively fresh-faced club competing in a 110-year-old competition – with the growth of the Coast as a city on the whole.

The ownership consortium led by herself and Kelly has clearly flagged its intentions to further ingrain its standing within the community.

Rebecca Frizelle (second from left) with executive chairman Dennis Watt and fellow co-owners Jo and Darryl Kelly. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“History would suggest we’re never going to make money out of this – and that was not our intention. In fact, the only certainty over the next few years will be losses,” Frizelle said.

“However, ourselves and the Kelly family are committed to ensuring the Gold Coast Titans are viable in the long term and that project is well and truly underway.

“Darryl and Joanne Kelly are very rare people. Fortunately we all share the same views and with the drive and commitment of Darryl and his expertise, we can be sure the Gold Coast Titans will be here for the decades to come”.

“Personally, our family is conscious that the Coast has supported our business (Frizelle Sunshine Automotive Group) for a long, long time and we’re very much believers that we all have a responsibility to put back into our community and this is a way for us to invest back in to the Gold Coast that will hopefully have a long-term legacy.”