It hasn’t changed results but Gold Coast’s brutal honesty over the future of their players has been defended by interim coach Craig Hodges.
The Titans were outclassed by south-east Queensland rivals Brisbane 34-12 at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday, their second heavy NRL defeat since coach Garth Brennan was sacked.
In the aftermath of Brennan’s axing the players were told their own futures at the club were up in the air and further departures were to be expected.
Hodges says it’s a message the players deserve to hear and one that is all about ensuring the Titans go from cellar-dwellers to challengers.
“They are on notice, there’s no point lying to them,” he said.
“The cold hard truth is I think it would be incredibly unfair to sugar-coat it now for them, nurse them for the last eight weeks and somebody at the club taps them on the shoulder in September.
“It’ll make it very clear for us … the guys that are keen to be onboard and are committed to doing it. We no longer want to be a 16th-placed club.”
Hodges own future remains uncertain, with the club reportedly poised to announce their new coach early next week.
While he says he’s not been told anything about that announcement, Hodges said he was looking forward to the challenge of leading the Titans for the remainder of the 2019 campaign.
“I’m not naive enough to think that you go on a run and win six straight when you haven’t even won six all year, but we can certainly get better at a lot of things that we haven’t done right,” he said.
“I see it as a great challenge … one that is testing, but one that will bring the best in all of us, including myself.”