Gold Coast Titans documentary: ‘Building Titans’ hits top gear from minute one
Drug scandals, bankruptcy, NRL bailouts and one final chance to save the franchise’s license; the sordid tale of rugby league’s rollercoaster on the Gold Coast is gripping from minute one in new documentary series.
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- Why Tyrone Peachey could force Tino out of lock
- Taylor: Why I regret multimillion-dollar contract
- New favourite emerges to understudy Fifita
- Freak training accident sidelines Titans’ whiz schoolboy signing
EPISODE ONE
Any fears the Gold Coast Titans’ bold new documentary series, Building Titans, might pull punches to present the team in a rosier-than-deserved light were tossed out the window in the opening moments.
When Queensland’s top rugby league journalist and prominent Titans critic Peter Badel sat down in front of the cameras the first words spoken came instead from team media man Scott Rollinson.
“Don’t feel you’ve got to polish it up too much,” Rollinson said off-screen.
It was permission to tell the story how it really ran, warts and all.
Drug scandals, bankruptcy, NRL bailouts and one final chance to save the franchise’s license; the sordid tale of rugby league’s latest rollercoaster on the Gold Coast set the stakes perfectly for the dawn of the Justin Holbrook era.
Director Matthew Adekponya summed up more than a decade of Titans heartbreak in 15 heavy-hitting minutes that amplified the club’s remarkable turnaround through 2020.
Amidst the doom and gloom came the highlight of the opening episode with the introduction of local superfans Dan and Lisa Forrest.
“I always say to my husband if we didn’t have the Titans we’d probably get divorced because we have nothing else in common,” Lisa quips to lighten the mood.
Dan, who proudly shows off the discarded Titans merchandise he has rescued from the skip bins at his workplace, is the eternal optimist.
“No doubt, we’ve been really disappointed by some of the things that have gone on, but having kids, you kind of teach them to stick to it, you know?” he said.
“This is your club. You’re not going to give up, no matter what.”
They are the powerful reminder of why the fate of the Titans matters.
Beyond the boardrooms and corporate sponsors the long-suffering fans are the ones who deserve the club’s success the most.
The search for a new head coach and the first days of Holbrook’s tenure is another high point of episode one, with the team’s early speed bumps in 2020 soon washed away by a sea of fist pumps, bro hugs and outright jubilation as the wins begin to accumulate.
As CEO Steve Mitchell narrates his pride in Holbrook’s big calls to dump well-paid underperformers for battlers like Jamal Fogarty and Jaimin Jolliffe the winning streak begins and Building Titans really hits top gear.
A commentator’s call, that 2021 can’t come soon enough, carries the documentary into the first week of pre-season.
A training montage shows the Titans buying into the constant call that hard work was all that could salvage the club.
Holbrook closes out the first installment of the series with an assessment of where 2021 could take the Titans.
“I’m excited about what’s possible,” he said.
“As for what is, I’m not sure, but I’m looking forward to it.”
The gloomy introduction to the Titans recent history was the perfect start to a series that will unquestionably focus on the hope for greater things in 2021.
As the episode approached the present day it was impossible not to smile at the reversal of fortunes.
Titans fans simply must not miss a moment.
Stream Building Titans on Kayo now.
EPISODE 2
FIVE years ago the Titans didn’t have a player worthy of putting up on a billboard.
In 2021 they are blessed with a rich assortment of players whose name’s belong up in lights.
Episode Two of Building Titans was an in-depth introduction to the high-flying recruits Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and David Fifita, with the best glimpse yet of their personalities away from the field.
Fifita’s first day as a Titan, including his nerves driving through the streets and a packed press conference in the penthouse suite of Q1, was as charming an insight into rugby league’s latest million-dollar man as you could have hoped for.
Fifita makes a strong impression on the training pitch, bantering with high performance boss Klint Hoare during rehab and demanding additional reps to ensure he is ready when he rejoins the main group.
A trip to his old stomping grounds at Keebra Park with former partner-in-crime was surreal as the pair watched on as their 2017 national title win played out on the wall of the school’s sports hall.
The glances between Fifita and Boyd said it all – can you believe we’re really here?
From the glitz and glamour of Fifita’s first day on the Glitter Strip to a trip back to Widgee, near Gympie, to visit Tino Fa’suamaleaui’s family farm, was just as good.
“All my life I’ve been an underdog,” he said.
Playing for tiny Wide Bay in junior rep carnivals was the ideal preparation to sign with an underdog club.
Fa’suamaleaui is all smiles. Taking on the big boys has never been a problem for him.
Back at home Tino pores over old photographs from his childhood.
The baby-faced kid in the photos is barely recognisable though he only turned 21 a month ago.
It’s a strong reminder that for all his success and becoming a dad himself Fa’asuamaleaui isn’t far removed from that young kid sitting around a dug-out cubbyhouse fire pit.
For that matter neither is Fifita, who we learned has moved out of his mum’s home for the first time to make his name on the Coast.
At the top of the episode a peek into the life of Titans culture chief Mal Meninga showed the Immortal working the phones.
He was coy when asked to describe his role at the Titans, eventually finding an answer he is happy with: a senior advisor in a consultancy role, tasked with helping the club find it’s DNA, to find its vision on what the Titans stand for.
He was the key piece that brought the two young stars to the Gold Coast and he makes clear he sees the two of them as the foundation of the team’s new future.
The episode closes on the empty billboard we saw at the beginning of the episode.
This time it has been filled; not just with Tino and Fifita but a cast of a half-dozen players who will wear the colours with pride.
TITANS MAKE CAPTAINCY CALL
TITANS coach Justin Holbrook has ended months of speculation over the Titans captaincy in 2021, naming Kevin Proctor and Jamal Fogarty as co-captains on the eve of the side’s final trial in Lismore.
It is the second-straight season head coach Justin Holbrook has appointed multiple captains, with Jamal Fogarty taking over from club legend Ryan James as Proctor’s right-hand man.
Proctor said although Fogarty was a different style of leader to James he felt their chemistry would click immediately.
“I think it will be heaps different than with Ryan,” the 252-game backrower said.
“Jamal is pretty much a talker and I’m a do’er.
“It seems like the perfect combination, doesn’t it.
“We worked well together last year and we’ll continue on what we’ve done together.”
Proctor’s pride in Fogarty’s rapid rise from the Intrust Super Cup to the captaincy of his hometown NRL team in 12 months was clear.
“To see all the hard work he’s put in to get where is now, I’m proud of him and I’m happy for him as well.
“He deserves the success and I’m sure he has plenty more coming.”
Holbrook said co-captaincy was the obvious decision with two strong leaders with different approaches.
“I think for everyone in our Club this was the obvious way to go,” he said.
“I think KP did a really good job last year and the way Jamal came on last year and just lead the side around being a halfback, it was a perfect fit for us this year to have them both.
“They compliment each other and I’m really looking forward to them sharing the role this year.”
Fogarty provided a sneak preview into how the arrangement could work in an exclusive interview with the Bulletin last month.
“He’s someone who leads with his actions,” Fogarty said of Proctor.
“His throat injury doesn’t help his communication so I sort of picked that up for him.
“My role in the team is the communication.
“If we need direction my job as a half is to give that communication, to voice my opinion and let the boys know what we’re running and what’s going on.
“We’ve got a great leader in Kev and the rest of the boys, Ash (Taylor), myself and the spine need to back him up.”
Fogarty said he was grateful for the opportunity to take on a formal role alongside the Titans most-experienced player.
TITANS STAR OPENS UP: ‘CONTRACT SAVED MY LIFE’
ERIN Clark was 20kg overweight with a young family and no career prospects outside of his job labouring for a New Zealand landscaping firm when a lifeline from the Gold Coast Titans saved his life.
Clark was one of New Zealand’s most promising junior halfbacks, stuck behind Shaun Johnson at the Warriors, when a position switch to hooker set his career on a different path.
After signing with Canberra in search of game time the 20-year-old lost his passion for the game and requested a release to return to NZ after only five months.
“Being so young, coming out of school and straight into an NRL system was like I’d missed out on being a kid,” Clark said.
“My partner was pregnant with my son back home and everything just fell down.
“I wanted to be around my son so I went home.”
Clark picked up a menial job and for a year embraced his new existence – he would leave Erin Clark the footy star behind to become Erin Clark, the working-class dad.
It was a different life but the freedom he expected to find didn’t come as he imagined.
After a year Clark’s focus was snapped away from just himself.
“A real changing moment was I was lying on my bed with my son, who was still really young,” he said.
“When I was looking at him I knew I had to give him something.
“I know there’s something more for me and I want to give you a good life.”
Clark called his manager, who put him in touch with Titans recruitment manager Ezra Howe – the same man who signed him to Canberra - to beg for another chance.
Howe offered him that chance with one condition: If he could shed all 20kg by the time he arrived on the Titans’ doorstep a pre-season train-and-trial contract was his.
WATCH HERE: THE AUDITION TAPE CLARK SENT TO TITANS
Clark, then 22, was so impressive upon his arrival that the club signed him to a two-year extension within eight weeks of arriving.
“It kind of saved my life,” he said.
“I wasn’t happy when I was away from footy. When I came back I realised this is what I was here to do.
“I’m not where I want to be yet and I’ve still got a long way to go but I’m happy with the steps I’m taking to give my son and my daughter a good life.”
With a stronger support network on the Coast Clark is ready to continue his growth as a hooker, despite new rules changing the game.
“The No.9 has to be the fittest player on the field now, especially with the new rules,” he said.
“It’s a tough role because you’ve got to be more fit, more mobile, but that’s what I’ve been working on this pre-season and I’m trying my best.”
JAMAL FOGARTY’S INCREDIBLE TRANSFORMATION
JAMAL Fogarty is beefed up and ready to take on the NRL as a running threat for the first time as the Gold Coast Titans halfback.
Fogarty’s 12-month transformation from club football playmaker to muscle-bound NRL star is nearing completion.
Since joining the club in the latter half of the 2020 pre-season Fogarty has punched above his weight but is now ready to dish out the hits of his own – especially if he gets the chance to take on his football nemesis, Canberra Raider Josh Papalii.
Fogarty has not yet lived down the ignominy of being cut down from behind by the Maroons prop, which is one of many reasons he has tackled an off-season in the gym with gusto.
“I cop it from our middles every session we do speed,” Fogarty said.
“Even people in public will come up to me like, ‘You’re the guy Papalii ankle-tapped’ and I have to be like, ‘yeah, that’s me.’
“We’ve been doing a bit of speedwork technique down on the field so hopefully I can get the benefits in the season.
“If I do make a linebreak I know to run to the corner post this time and not keep running straight.”
Fogarty hits the gym four times a week, with two sessions on his upper body and two for his lower body, on top of the Titans work on the field.
He has added three kilograms of muscle while reducing his skinfolds testing results, which measure bodyfat percentage.
Fogarty says that muscle mass, combined with his speed training, will allow him to take on defenders in the line and put on a big hit or two of his own in 2021.
“Hopefully a bit more size can get me one or two linebreaks this year or help me tackle the big fellas coming down my edge,” he said.
“Last year I was just going with what was happening but this year I feel as though I belong in the team.
“Hopefully my performances can go up a notch each week with a couple more linebreaks, a bit more running and slowing those big boys down (in defence).”
Fogarty was a potent runner with the Burleigh Bears in 2019, winning the Intrust Super Cup’s most valuable player award, but was content to find his feet as a ballplayer in the top grade.
Burleigh coach Rick Stone said Fogarty looked poised to throw off those shackles in his second season.
“I didn’t think we saw a lot of Jamal’s running last year which was understandable because he was finding his feet,” Stone said.
“As he gets confident and a better understanding of the six-again rule he’ll spot more opportunities to run.
“He’s put on a few kilos (of muscle), found his feet and everyone will see more of his running game if he gets a chance this year.”
The Titans are in red-hot shape at the close of January, with major credit owed to the team’s new strength and conditioning staff led by High Performance Manager Klint Hoare.
He, along with the Titans nutrition team, have helped implement training and diet strategies that have turbocharged their development, particularly in the case of Fogarty.
Eliminating soft drinks and dessert from his diet, portion control at mealtime and restricting bingeful ‘cheat days’ into naughty meals has been the key.
“The S&C staff have brought heaps of energy to the playing group as a staff, and as players we like seeing that,” Fogarty said.
“It makes us want to rip in when the coaches are coming in upbeat and we’re happy to work hard for them.
“Every is enjoying training, everyone is coming in smiling. The place is in a real good spot at the moment.”
PBC mateship put on ice for former teammates
Jamal Fogarty and Jahrome Hughes were like yin and yang at the Gold Coast’s famous Palm Beach Currumbin State High School in 2011.
Neither wore the No.7 jersey for school but nine years later PBC’s odd couple will find themselves head-to-head on the NRL stage, opposing halfbacks for the first time.
It’s been an eventful decade for both the indigenous kid from Beaudesert and the Maori boy from Wellington, who together powered PBC to the 2011 Queensland title from five-eighth and fullback respectively.
On the field they could scarcely be further apart.
In the 2011 state decider Hughes scored the game’s opening try against Keebra Park with a 105 metre runaway.
The fullback fancied himself as a ballplayer but he didn’t pass once from tryline to tryline.
Fogarty was the organiser who passed and passed and passed.
“There was no jealousy there, no ‘I’m better than you,’” coach Phil Sutherland said of their sparkling schoolboy connection.
“Both of them were incredible young men, humble, quiet, unassuming and they just gelled.
“They were like that here and they’re still the same respectful young men.”
Their paths to Friday night’s blockbuster between the Storm and Titans at Sunshine Coast Stadium have been difficult as well.
Hughes signed with the Roosters, then Titans, the Cowboys and in 2017 the Storm where he played 44 NRL matches. Fogarty had to wait until 2017 for his first NRL game with the Titans and even longer to lock down his starting jersey this year.
Both have served their apprenticeships and have emerged stronger for it, their old coach said.
“Jahrome has learned to channel his brilliance where it best fits,” Sutherland said.
“He still plays a little off the cuff despite the Storm’s structure.
“Jamal is doing a great job getting the Titans around the park. It’s hard for oppositions to work him out because he’s always popping up in new places.”
MORE BULLETIN RUGBY LEAGUE COVERAGE
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■ The trait that unites Holbrook and Bellyache: Proctor
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Their friendships will be left on the sideline when battle begins, and Fogarty vowed he wouldn’t shirk a chance to let his old mate feel the sting.
“It’s been a while since we were teammates and his game has developed a lot since we were at school together,” the Titans halfback said.
“If he gives me the opportunity to tackle him I’m going to tackle him.
“I’m sure he’ll do the same for me as well.”
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