Mal Meninga vows to see out his contract at the struggling club
Titans head of performance Mal Meninga has promised to see out his three-year contract on the Gold Coast despite relocating over 1000km away from the glitter strip.
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Mal Meninga insists he is not abandoning the Titans and will see out his three-year contract on the Gold Coast despite returning to Canberra.
Meninga has relocated his family home to the nation’s capital after spending the 2019 NRL season on the Gold Coast.
The Titans signed Meninga as the club’s head of performance and culture last November, a role that became more hands-on following the departure of head of football Phil Moss and sacking of coach Garth Brennan.
The Titans claimed the club’s second wooden spoon last season, winning just four games in a disastrous 2019 campaign.
Super League premiership-winning coach Justin Holbrook will take over the reins next week and will be given control of the Gold Coast’s football department.
Meninga said while he would scale back his workload, he was committed to leading the Titans out of the NRL cellar.
“Absolutely,” Meninga said when asked if he would see out his contract.
“I want to make sure when I do leave the club it’s in really good shape.
“On the back of being successful on the footy field our financial strengths will improve as well. All of those things work together.
“I’m not going to give up on the club until our job’s done.
“I’ll be working for the Titans in a consultancy role. I don’t work full-time. I’m required to work a number of days a week and that’s the way it will remain.
“Only because of what happened with the club I was in there hands-on, full-time (last season).
“We’ve managed to resurrect the coaching staff and have got people in the right positions, so I’ll go back to my original role as a consultant.”
Meninga, 59, splits his professional time between the Kangaroos coaching duties, Fox Sports commentary commitments, and the Titans.
He is currently in camp with the Australian Test team ahead of tomorrow night’s match against New Zealand in Wollongong.
A factor in the Gold Coast’s acquisition of Meninga in a specially created role was to capitalise on the rugby league immortal’s aura in player recruitment drives.
Titans co-owner Darryl Kelly said he trusted Meninga to contribute to the club, but admitted contracts could change.
“He is committed to seeing the club get to where he thinks it can get to,” Kelly said.
“The original contract was for three years, but like all contracts if they need to change, they need to change. No one is going to be holding people here that don’t want to be here or can’t be here.
“He’s got enough integrity to say he can’t do the job because of other commitments – he will know when he’s not contributing. I don’t doubt his integrity at all.
“Mal is maintaining a residence here. He will still be here when he’s required.
“He’s still fully committed at this point in time.”
The Titans will begin pre-season training on November 4 under the Holbrook regime, with new assistant coaches in Jim Dymock and Jim Lenihan.
Originally published as Mal Meninga vows to see out his contract at the struggling club
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