NRL 2024: David Fifita expected to quit Gold Coast Titans, Panthers superfan Mick Fanning spotted near Titans HQ
Panthers superfan Mick Fanning has been spotted near the home of the Titans in the latest development of the David Fifita contract circus, while the club continues to push for their star to stay on the Gold Coast.
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Penrith’s No. 1 fan Mick Fanning made a surprise appearance at the home of the Gold Coast Titans on Wednesday as David Fifita’s contract sideshow became a full blown circus.
Three-time surfing world champion and Gold Coast resident Fanning coincidentally arrived at Parkwood Village moments before Fifita escaped up a back door to evade media following training.
Fanning is a well-known Panthers fan, having narrated the club’s recent documentary and celebrated last year’s third straight NRL title with the team.
There is no suggestion Fanning’s appearance at the home of the Titans, which also includes a golf club and other businesses, was related to Fifita.
Fifita, who has been on a six-month media ban as the Titans attempt to protect their $1 million-a-season star, moved like dynamic fullback AJ Brimson through a carpark to avoid answering questions about his future.
The Queensland Origin forward blindsided Titans coach Des Hasler and used his two days off this week to travel to Sydney to meet rival coaches Ivan Cleary (Panthers) and Trent Robinson (Roosters), who have offered him multi-year contracts to leave the Gold Coast.
Fifita, 24, has until 8pm on Thursday to activate a two-year option worth $2 million to remain at the Titans until the end of 2026.
The Titans are resigned to Fifita letting the round 10 clause lapse, which would make him a free agent beyond this season and open to move to a rival club.
While Fifita continued his trend of dodging NRL media commitments, teammates Kieran Foran and Jaimin Jolliffe were left to answer questions about one of the club’s highest-paid players.
Foran said Fifita hadn’t addressed the issue with his teammates but he hoped the reigning Dally M backrower of the year stayed on the Gold Coast.
“I hope he stays. (There’s been) no indication yet,” he said.
“He’s working through that process with his family and management. We’re giving him the time and space he needs.
“I’m not annoyed about (having to answer questions). The reality is we’re here to do a job and that’s what we’re doing. He’s got to work through the process.
“We’ll afford him that time and space he needs and hopefully it’s done sooner rather than later.
“We love him. He’s been a big part of this club for a long time and his career speaks for itself.
“He’s been such a damaging player for such a long time, it’s no wonder he’s in-demand.
“We’d love him to stay, but he’s got to work through this clause and process.”
Fifita’s future has been a talking point since the Titans abruptly sacked former coach Justin Holbrook in June last year to make way for Hasler’s resurrection.
Fifita and captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui had clauses in their contracts that made them free agents in the event Holbrook was axed which forced the Titans back to the negotiating table.
Fa’asuamaleaui secured a $12 million, 10-year contract laced with player options, while Fifita was handed a three-year $3 million extension with the round 10 clause.
That clause has come back to haunt the Titans, who are now expecting the destructive forward to quit the club and give them little time to use the $1 million of salary cap space next year.
Foran hit back at suggestions the 16th-placed Titans couldn’t be NRL premiership contenders in years to come and insisted Fifita had bought into Hasler’s vision.
“I don’t agree with that,” he said.
“People are entitled to their opinion and rightly so. Penrith have been a wonderful club for a long time.
“We’re also building here. It’d be naive to think we haven’t improved dramatically.
“I know the results don’t show that yet, but if you know your footy you can see we’re heading in the right direction and sooner or later it’s going to click. When it does, we’re in for a few exciting years ahead.
“I’ve got no doubt about (Fifita buying in). His performances show that.
“He’s really bought into his physicality, training and what Des has been asking of him. His performances over the last month have been exceptional.
“He’s worked on the areas Des has asked of him and I assume he’s really buying into the vision Des wants.”
In what could be considered another Panthers omen, a black cat was spotted walking through the Parkwood carpark shortly after Foran spoke.
TITANS RESIGNED TO LOSING FIFITA
The Titans believe David Fifita will not activate his contract-option amid fears the Queensland Origin star is on the verge of quitting the Gold Coast for a move to Sydney.
The development comes as the Titans have been slammed for often dropping Fifita to the bench after he was poached from the Broncos as the club’s jewel in the crown on a $1 million-a-season deal.
This masthead can reveal Gold Coast bosses are resigned to Fifita not take up a player-option in his deal over the next 24 hours, fuelling the belief the ex-Broncos star is seriously weighing up offers from Penrith and the Roosters.
Fifita has until kick-off on Thursday night to advise Titans hierarchy as to whether he will take-up an option in his Gold Coast contract to remain on the Glitter Strip until the end of 2026.
The back-row wrecking ball had the round 10 clause inserted into a three-year contract extension last year following the abrupt sacking of former coach Justin Holbrook.
Fifita wanted to take a wait-and-see approach on the state of the Titans amid the turbulence of Holbrook’s shock dismissal and the sudden appointment of Des Hasler, who had never coached the Origin forward.
Fifita is making the Titans wait until the eleventh-hour to inform them of his decision, but his movements in recent days suggest he is set to depart the Gold Coast following four rollercoaster years.
Titans bosses have been in dialogue with his management in recent days, but are privately resigned to not receiving a definitive answer from Fifita by the Thursday deadline.
While that doesn’t mean Fifita is officially quitting the Titans, failure to meet the deadline will mean the 24-year-old is a free agent and able to take his time to make a considered decision on his future.
There is a possibility Fifita will eventually stay loyal to the Titans, but even Gold Coast powerbrokers concede the contract offers tabled by Penrith and the Roosters will hold appeal for the Keebra Park sensation.
Penrith are considered the favourites to secure Fifita, while the Roosters, bolstered by a $4 million war chest, have tabled a four-year deal worth around $3.4 million.
But Fifita, who has previously spoken of his reluctance to leave Queensland, has been warned of the dangers of moving to Sydney to progress his NRL career.
Titans ambassador Gorden Tallis played a key role in Fifita quitting the Broncos at the end of 2020 and says the veteran of 113 NRL games could find it tough leaving the comforts of the Gold Coast for the pressures of Sydney.
“When you go to Sydney, you can halve your money,” Tallis said.
“The greatest Penrith players like Greg Alexander and Brad Fittler don’t live at Penrith, they live on the northern beaches and in the eastern suburbs.
“Dave lives in a holiday destination on the Gold Coast. Isn’t that the best place to live where people pack up and pay money to go on a holiday?
“To be paid to play NRL on the Gold Coast, with a cheaper way of living and a great lifestyle, I don’t get why Dave would want to leave to go to Sydney.
“I didn’t like Sydney.
“Dave is a ‘TI’ (Torres Strait Islander) boy and me and him had similar upbringings and cultures.
“You can get lost there (in Sydney) very quickly.
“I went there to Sydney when I was 18 (to play for the Dragons before returning home to the Broncos).
“I have been flying to Sydney for 20 years and there’s a reason I don’t live in Sydney.
“I’m a Queensland kid.
“I’m not sure if Dave fits in with people down there because of his culture and his community and how close he is to his mum near the Gold Coast.”
Former Broncos skipper Corey Parker believes Fifita could have a bad taste in his mouth after being benched by the Titans several times.
Since joining the Gold Coast in 2021, the 113kg powerhouse has played 16 games off the bench despite being one of the code’s highest paid players.
“The Titans have struggled for a few years and they had their marquee player sitting on the bench,” Parker said.
“That would affect Dave to some degree.
“Let’s face it – he’s not a bench player.
“He was a Dally M back-rower last year in a team that missed the finals, so I think he did really well. And the Titans aren’t helping Dave by having their $1 million marquee player on the bench.
“That must affect Dave to some degree. He is not a bench player.
“I don’t know what the relationship between Des (Hasler) and Dave is, the coach might not be too disappointed if he left and there was money in the cap for a halfback.”
The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology then edited and approved for publication by an editor.
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