Internal investigation spells the end for Des Hasler and Gold Coast Titans
A Gold Coast Titans probe has uncovered a public-relations problem for the club and disconnect with the local community as Des Hasler fights to save his job.
An internal Gold Coast investigation has found the Titans have lost touch with their fans under a regime that will trigger the demise of besieged coach Des Hasler.
CODE Sports can reveal Titans hierarchy believe they are suffering an image crisis with their key stakeholders — the Gold Coast people — ahead of Saturday’s clash against the Warriors at Cbus Super Stadium.
The private probe has uncovered a public-relations problem and disconnect with the local community as Hasler fights to save his job on the Gold Coast.
Titans co-owner Rebecca Frizelle, who last month claimed a full ownership stake of the club, has presided over the review amid speculation inaugural football boss Scott Sattler is being sized up for a Gold Coast comeback.
Asked if he was keen to return to the Titans in an official capacity, Sattler said: “I’m definitely open to it if the Titans feel there is a role I can play to ensure the Gold Coast is successful.
“I love this region. I played for the Gold Coast and I know what the Titans can do for the wider community, which extends to the Northern Rivers of NSW.”
But it’s the Titans’ own preliminary findings that will ring alarm bells for the club — and amplify pressure on Hasler to avoid being sacked by the Gold Coast.
The Titans entered the league in 2007 with a charter to be torchbearers for Gold Coast region but powerbrokers are concerned the club has become increasingly distant from their blue-collar fans.
There are fears Hasler is central to the identity crisis.
His predecessor Justin Holbrook was popular with Gold Coast identities because of his ambassadorial, amiable style.
But sources say Titans staff are now walking on eggshells under Hasler.
The veteran coach has thrived on a siege mentality throughout his career.
When he arrived at the Titans last year, Hasler closed ranks, erecting large blue shadecloth at the club’s training headquarters at Parkwood — labelled the Great Wall of Des — to prevent prying eyes.
The shadecloth was removed this year, but Hasler’s initial actions fostered a sentiment that the Titans were shutting down from the community.
The Titans’ public-relations messaging is shambolic.
At the start of this season, Hasler put the entire NRL squad on a media ban for two months.
Star forward David Fifita was gagged for almost a whole year, with Titans fans and the Gold Coast public unable to hear from one of the club’s most marketable players at a time when AFL rivals, the Suns, are surging.
Earlier this season, Hasler was exposed for using furtive hand signals to cut short press conferences, prompting Titans management to address the issue with the 64-year-old and remind him of his public responsibilities.
It’s those actions that prompted the Titans to conduct an internal inquisition — and why Hasler, barring a miracle, will not be coaching the Titans in 2026.
There are performance clauses in Hasler’s contract that, technically, could see him dismissed immediately given the last-placed Titans’ failure to reach the playoffs this season.
Titans officialdom are trying to handle a potentially powderkeg situation with care and would prefer a dignified exit for Hasler, who is contracted for another year.
But there is an accepted view that a cultural change is needed to realign the Titans with a Gold Coast community they personally believe they are failing.
Sattler, who has experience in strategy and crisis management in the private investigations world, is adamant the Titans can fight back as a finals contender next season.
The 203-game NRL great, who inspired Penrith’s 2003 premiership win with his iconic trysaver on Roosters winger Todd Byrne, played a crucial role in the birth of the Titans in 2007.
As football manager, he signed some of the club’s foundation greats, including Scott Prince, Mat Rogers, Preston Campbell and Luke Bailey.
Those players gave the Titans a soul. Now Gold Coast chiefs fear the Titans have abandoned their people.
Sattler, though, is adamant the Titans can flourish in the region with the right structures.
“The Titans can be a juggernaut,” he said.
“I’m the eternal optimist when it comes to rugby league and the value of the Titans to the NRL.
“Successful rugby league clubs are all about, first and foremost, the people that you have involved in the club.”
Hasler is adamant the Titans are improving and intimated he is keen to coach on in 2026 amid speculation he could retire at season’s end.
“I don’t want you to think that I’m making excuses about where we are, you can also be guilty of going down rabbit holes to find excuses,” he said on the eve of the Warriors clash.
“There are probably four or five games there I thought we should have held on to (win).
“I’m not going to go into the details around that, they’ve been fairly well documented.
“We need to be competitive, really competitive, in these remaining three games.
“We’ll probably analyse that once the season breaks down, go all through that again and work towards it.
“We know what we need to fix.”
Originally published as Internal investigation spells the end for Des Hasler and Gold Coast Titans
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