With just four weeks left in an NRL season to forget, Gold Coast’s players are being urged to fight to the end by youngster Jai Whitbread.
The Titans look certain to pick up the 2019 wooden spoon following last Saturday’s 40-28 loss to St George Illawarra at Kogarah.
The defeat was their fourth in a row since coach Garth Brennan’s sacking last month.
At the time, the playing squad was put on notice: they needed to prove their commitment to the club.
But as a threat, it has failed to spark results.
A roster clear-out looks unlikely with reports suggesting new coach Justin Holbrook will have to make do with just $100,000 in salary cap space for next season.
Underperforming big-money recruits like Tyrone Peachey, Shannon Boyd, Leilani Latu and Bryce Cartwright are all under contract until at least the end of 2020.
Ryley Jacks and Brenko Lee the only first team regulars without a deal for next year.
Despite having little left to play for this season, Whitbread is urging his teammates to hang tough over the final four matches of the campaign.
“We all love what we do … we’ve got to get ourselves up,” the 21-year-old Gold Coast junior said.
“We use each other as morale boosts and we’re not giving up on each other. It is difficult when things aren’t going our way but that’s just what we’ve got to do.
“The season hasn’t gone the way we’ve wanted so we’ve got to finish it off the best we can and do it together.”