Peter V’landys predicts the Gold Coast Titans will become an NRL heavyweight under new owners
The Gold Coast Titans are facing a $250 million fight with the AFL but ARLC chairman Peter V’landys has predicted the NRL’s paupers will become premiership heavyweights following a huge change.
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Peter V’landys insists the Titans will become an NRL powerhouse as Gold Coast’s new owners prepare to launch a club-wide review to combat the AFL’s $250 million Queensland incursion.
The Titans are set to undergo mass changes after sole owners Rebecca and Brett Frizelle put the entire club on notice following years of mediocrity.
The Frizelles will launch a wide-ranging review and audit of the Titans after assuming full ownership of the club earlier this month when white knight Darryl Kelly offloaded his 50 per cent share.
The review will target the following areas as the Titans search for answers in their fight to avoid this year’s wooden spoon and a fourth straight bottom four season.
– The future of coach Des Hasler, who has performance clauses in his contract that allow the Titans to terminate his tenure after two failed seasons.
– A full analysis of the team’s playing roster and salary cap management, which has been criticised for investing heavily in the wrong positions.
– The structure and personnel in the club’s football department, including a new recruitment manager following the departure of Ezra Howe.
– The club’s senior management structure. Chairman Dennis Watt is safe and will remain in the role to lead the revival.
– A potential branding and marketing shake-up which could include a change of jersey, colours and club ethos.
The Titans will embark on their 20th NRL season next year and have only won one finals match since their 2007 launch.
The past four years have been abject failures on the field, but ARL Commission chairman V’landys said the Titans had a bright future under a new ownership model.
“Naturally we’re disappointed with their on-field performances,” he said.
“However, we remain staunch supporters of the Gold Coast, and in particular we are strong supporters of the Frizelles.
“Now that they’ve taken control of the Titans I think you’ll see some significantly better results.
“They’re a very progressive club, they’ve invested heavily in the women’s game and they’re trying to get a centre of excellence and bring themselves up.
“They’ve never been on the same platform as the other clubs.”
Among the Gold Coast’s most powerful and successful business people, the Frizelles have been committed supporters of the Titans since the club’s entry to the NRL, initially as sponsors through their car dealership empire.
Rebecca’s involvement evolved over the years and she was appointed the NRL’s first female chair of a club in 2014 when she took charge of the Titans.
She helped guide the Titans through the NRL’s takeover in 2015 before the Frizelle and Kelly families took co-ownership of the club in 2017.
However the Titans have struggled to gain momentum, churning through coaches Garth Brennan (2018-19) and Justin Holbrook (2020-23) while Hasler looks set to follow suit.
The ARLC approved the ownership change on the Gold Coast and V’landys said the Frizelles would bring success to the Titans as the club looks to snap a three-game losing streak against the Tigers at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday.
“We’re super confident with the chairman (Watt) and the Frizelles,” he said.
“Dennis is one of the best chairmen you’ll deal with. It’s not the management that’s (the issue) because he is top notch in my view. He’s an extraordinary, experienced and intelligent chairman and the Frizelles have been remarkably successful in their business life.
“If they bring that same commercial acumen to the Gold Coast, I think in the next two to three years you’re going to see a vast improvement in the Titans.
“We have extreme faith in the Frizelles. They’ve been exceptionally successful business people.
“Rebecca Frizelle is held in the highest regard in Queensland by governments. I deal with federal government and the state government and both speak exceptionally highly of her ability and acumen. That gives me a lot of confidence when you hear top-line ministers praise her.
“To be on the Olympic Games committee … I was told by the chairman (Andrew Liveris) what an exceptional talent she is. She comes highly spoken about so that’s why we have confidence.”
The Titans have been considered the paupers of the NRL but that is about the change.
The club recently secured council land for a new centre of excellence at Emerald Lakes and V’landys said the Frizelles’ business nous would transform the Titans into an NRL heavyweight.
“They’re very successful and an NRL club is a multimillion-dollar business at the end of the day,” he said.
“The club is there predominantly for the fans, but in order to achieve the best results on the field they’ve got to achieve the results in head office.
“You need people with commercial acumen. You need people that know how to run a business.
“They’ve got to get sponsors, promote the games and market the club, every aspect of a commercial operation. It’s backed up by having good staff and management around them that know the game of rugby league.
“You need a really good recruitment manager and coach. However it’s just as important to have the talent you’ve got in the football department in the head office as well, otherwise you won’t succeed.
“You won’t have the money to get the best coach and recruitment manager if you’re not successful in the head office.”
The Titans are not only engaged in a battle for success with their NRL rivals.
The AFL has been relentless in its bid to win over South East Queensland and in particular the booming Gold Coast, pumping more than $250 million into the Suns since the club’s 2011 launch and showing no signs of giving up.
The Suns are yet to make an AFL finals appearance, however that could change this year with the club sitting sixth on the ladder under the coaching of Richmond legend Damien Hardwick while the Titans are destined for the spoon.
V’landys acknowledged the AFL’s threat on the Gold Coast but said the future success of the Titans would ward the rival code off.
“The AFL has spent a lot of money on the Gold Coast, substantially more than us, in the tens of millions more than us,” he said.
“Once the Titans get some results on the board they will dismantle anything that the AFL have built on the Gold Coast.
“Whether you like it or not, Queensland is a rugby league state and will always be a rugby league state.
“They can pretend to be making up ground, but that’s all it is, pretend. They’re not. Rugby league is still a religion in Queensland.
“The Gold Coast is a centre pillar for us and we want to be strong there. It is one of the most populous cities in Queensland and Queensland is rugby league heartland.
“We’ve got confidence in the Frizelles and Dennis to turn it around.”
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