NRL 2023: Titans focus on ‘ideal environment’ as they push their case to keep David Fifita
Both Gold Coast and Canberra have made David Fifita attractive offers to get his signature, but the Titans feel that they have the blueprint to return the powerhouse forward to his explosive best.
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The Titans have made their final pitch to David Fifita, with coach Justin Holbrook declaring Gold Coast can help the ex-Maroons star rediscover the form that made him the NRL’s most destructive player.
Fifita is on the verge of deciding his future beyond 2023, with judgment day looming in the battle between the Titans and Raiders for the wrecking ball’s signature.
Both clubs have made Fifita attractive multi-year offers worth more than $800,000-a-season, a haircut from his current $1 million-plus salary but still top dollar for an edge backrower.
The Titans poached Fifita from the Broncos in 2020 on a bumper three-year deal worth more than $3 million and he initially delivered bang for buck.
Fifita, 22, scored a club record 17 tries in his first season at the Titans, helping Gold Coast to a drought-breaking finals appearance in 2021 with a string of devastating performances that made him the game’s most explosive forward.
But he struggled with injury and form last year, losing his Queensland Origin jersey as the Titans slumped to a bottom four finish.
Fifita sought advice from Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett during his plight last year, fuelling speculation he could look to quit the Titans at the end of 2023.
The Titans have made mass changes to their training program this year to bounce back into finals contention and parked Fifita’s close friend Tanah Boyd at halfback, next to him on the right edge.
Holbrook said he hopes Fifita can see the Titans’ long-term vision and commits to the club.
“I hope so, that’s the big question, I want him to stay,” he said.
“With the environment we’ve got now, it will really help him get to the top of his game. In terms of staff and players to really help him achieve his best.
“That’s what we all want. Part of that is him staying.
“Hopefully he can decide that sooner rather than later. I’m hoping it’s close.
“I definitely know he’s happy, but until he’s committed (you’re not certain he will stay).
“He doesn’t want it to drag out because then it’s going to be a question as the season goes on. I’m hoping in the next couple of weeks we’ll know.”
Fifita will start in the Titans’ first pre-season trial against the Broncos at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Sunday night.
Holbrook was initially planning to rest him, but Fifita is keen to get back on the field following last year’s NRL season and Tonga’s disappointing World Cup campaign.
He has been training overtime to increase his fitness and Holbrook said the Titans had done all they could to convince Fifita to stay.
“I feel like we have,” he said.
“We’ve identified everything we had to get better in at our club and also with Dave and his own game.
“He’s been in a really good head space around it. He doesn’t feel like there’s any doubts there but until it gets sorted you never know.
“He is fully fit and training really well. He is doing more sessions and training harder than anybody else.
“I was going to leave him until next week but he was really keen to play and get some minutes in so I agreed in the end. That’s a good indication.
“It’s a good opportunity to give him a hitout and then he’ll play longer in the main trial (against the Dolphins) next weekend.”
Titans ‘don’t know exactly where’ Campbell’s future lies
The Titans will not entertain releasing Jayden Campbell after coach Justin Holbrook declared the livewire fullback and AJ Brimson had long-term futures together on the Gold Coast.
Campbell will wear the No. 1 jersey in Sunday’s trial against the Broncos at Sunshine Coast Stadium as Holbrook rests Brimson for the Titans’ first pre-season hitout.
But it will likely be a short-lived stint at fullback, with Brimson to start the 2023 NRL premiership in his favoured position at the back.
That will shift Campbell into a bench utility role, raising speculation he could attract poaching raids from rival clubs looking for a new starting fullback.
Campbell, 23, is contracted to the Titans until the end of 2024, making him a free agent for 2025 and beyond from November this year.
But he will not be going anywhere in the interim after Holbrook insisted the son of Dally M legend Preston Campbell was part of the Gold Coast’s future.
“I love ‘Jaydo’ and we definitely want his future to be at our club,” Holbrook said.
“He’s such an exciting young player and we all know that.
“Last year he played a few games and then picked up an injury. We got him back for a few then he picked up another injury. He’s still got a lot to learn so we’ve got to use him a bit smarter this year.
“Last year we relied heavily on him and if he wasn’t there we really came unstuck. We didn’t want to be in that position again this year.
“His best position is definitely fullback but he’s got the ability to play elsewhere and be a real livewire anywhere in the backline.
“I need the trials before I decide who plays where. If he doesn’t end up fullback he’ll be somewhere because he’s too important for our team.
“He’s got that real x-factor about him and we love that. He is definitely happy here at the club and is a big part of our future, I just don’t know exactly where at the moment.”
Brimson, 24, is contracted until 2026 and will return to his most lethal position at fullback following last year’s five-eighth experiment.
He carried a chronic abdominal injury throughout last season and while it is not 100 per cent, the former Queensland Origin fullback is in much better shape heading into the 2023 premiership.
Holbrook said there was space for Brimson and Campbell in his team long-term despite the fullback logjam.
“Definitely, ‘JC’ has versatility to play other positions and so does AJ,” he said.
“We want the luxury that a couple of other clubs have like the Roosters with Joseph Manu playing fullback, five-eighth or centre and having a huge impact. (Cameron) Munster moves from five-eighth to fullback and doesn’t miss a beat.
“AJ has that ability and the only reason it didn’t work perfectly was because of the injury he went through last year. He’s equally as good in either position.
“We need that luxury because we saw what happened last year when we didn’t have choices. We got caught in a bit of a rut (finished 13th).
to fit everybody in, but as the season goes on and into the future we want them both.”
Holbrook will field a solid team in the Titans’ first trial, with his round 1 three-quarter line of Alofiana Khan-Pereira, Phil Sami, Jojo Fifita and Aaron Schoupp to start.
Halfback Tanah Boyd will captain the team after pipping Toby Sexton for the No. 7 jersey while David Fifita will make his first playing appearance of the year.
Holbrook has rested key players Kieran Foran, Sam Verrills, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Beau Fermor and Brimson ahead of Sunday week’s final trial against the Dolphins at Redcliffe.
REVEALED: DOLPHINS ENTER RACE FOR IN DEMAND KNIGHTS FLYER
Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett has set his sights on Newcastle try-scoring machine Dominic Young after walking away impressed from a meeting with the off-contract England international.
Young, fresh from starring for England at the recent World Cup, entered the final year of his deal with the Knights on November 1, leaving him free to sign with rival clubs.
Some of the game’s biggest names have been enlisted to woo Young. Canterbury head of football Phil Gould and South Sydney assistant coach Sam Burgess are among those to have spoken to the Knights winger.
Now Bennett has revealed his club’s interest in Young as they look to strengthen their squad for next season. The seven-time premiership winner confirmed to News Corp that he had spoken to Young - it is understood the Englishman toured the Dolphins’ facilities over the Christmas period - and he was on the club’s hit-list.
“We are interested in him,” Bennett said.
“He is a good athlete and has some size about him. He’s played well at Newcastle and for England.
“He was a very pleasant and lovely guy to meet, well-mannered as you’d expect.”
Young had barely played any Super League when he was signed by Newcastle in 2020 but he has showcased his talents over the past two seasons, scoring 18 tries in 26 first grade appearances since joining the Knights.
He stepped it up at the World Cup, scoring two tries on his Test debut against Samoa and then adding another six tries in the two games that followed against France and Greece.
NRL clubs were already salivating over his potential and they stepped up their attempts to lure him way from Newcastle on his return to Australia.
The Knights are digging in for a fight. News Corp understands that Newcastle haven’t given up hope of retaining Young but they won’t break the bank for him as they prepare for an influx of English players next season.
Young’s England teammate Kai Pearce-Paul has already signed a contract with the Knights for 2024, as has young star Will Pryce.
Young was crucial to Newcastle signing both players. Now he could be lost to Newcastle as Bennett and the cashed-up Dolphins circle, intent on landing a big kill leading into 2024.
The Dolphins have plenty of depth in the outside backs but Young would add a dash of class and speed given his pedigree and the way his game has improved since switching to the NRL.
Good judges believe the sky is the limit for the young star, who has made his name on the wing but could explore a shift to the centres in coming years.
While the Dolphins have put together a quality forward pack for their maiden season, they lack class and depth in the outside backs.
There are high hopes that St George Illawarra signing Jack Bostock could be a shock bolter for round one, although he is currently on a development deal and would need to be added to the top 30.
News Corp understands that plans are afoot for that to happen.
RED WAVE: DOLPHINS’ TICKET TSUNAMI TO STRIKE BRONCOS
—Travis Meyn
The Dolphins have hit back at the Broncos as the battle for territory intensifies, with Queenslanders rushing to be part of the NRL’s newest rivalry.
Thousands of tickets were snapped up within hours of the Dolphins releasing seats for their 2023 foundation NRL season home games on Wednesday.
It is less than a month until the Dolphins celebrate their NRL launch with a Suncorp Stadium blockbuster against the Sydney Roosters on March 5.
But it’s the derby against the Broncos on March 24 that will set the city alight.
The Broncos launched their 2023 marketing campaign – The Heart of Brisbane – this week, claiming the River City was a “one horse town”.
But the Dolphins have taken on the challenge and are ready to take the fight to the Broncos with former Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett at the helm.
“There is no doubt that excitement is building for the launch of the Dolphins into the NRL and certainly the natural rivalry with the Broncos is going to be a major part of that,” Dolphins CEO Terry Reader said.
“Our first home game on March 5 against the Roosters will be all about our club great Arthur Beetson and the legacy he has left as an Immortal of the game and as a legend at both the Dolphins and the Roosters. That will be a game that people will talk about attending for years to come.
“But then the battle for Brisbane is something that will spark excitement across the city and state and become a highlight of the rugby league calendar.
“Already the media and public are enjoying that rivalry and when we get onto the ground that we now share for that first game, it will become very real.”
The Broncos have enjoyed a monopoly in Brisbane since their foundation in 1988.
Apart from the three-year existence of the South Queensland Crushers in the mid-1990s, Brisbane has been the Broncos’ city for 35 years.
But the Dolphins are ready to shake things up with 75 years of history behind them at Redcliffe, a powerhouse of the Brisbane Rugby League in its glory days.
The Dolphins have combated Brisbane’s campaign with a rallying call of their own – A New History Starts Now – and can’t wait to tackle the Broncos in a city they are also claiming as their own.
“Brisbane now has two sides and this certainly has the potential to grow into something like other great rivalries in Australian and world sport,” Reader said.
“It has parallels with similar cross-city traditions – think Manchester United versus Manchester City in the English Premier League, and Collingwood-Carlton or Port Adelaide and the Crows in the AFL.
“And we think members and supporters of both clubs are going to just love it.”
Tickets for the Dolphins’ 10 home games at Suncorp and Kayo Stadium (Redcliffe) are on sale now through Ticketek.
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