Incoming Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook received a stark reminder of the daunting rebuild he faces as the Titans conceded 10 tries in Sunday’s 58-6 NRL thumping.
Just days after Holbrook was appointed coach for the 2020-21 seasons, the Titans fell two points shy of the heaviest defeat in their history at the hands of the Sydney Roosters.
“I hope it doesn’t get too much lower than this,” interim coach Craig Hodges said.
“I thought we would’ve had a bit of bounce in us today…now they know exactly who (the new coach) is and know exactly who will be watching.
“Today was a great opportunity to show him what they can do.
“We definitely showed him something, but he wouldn’t like what he saw.”
Hodges tried to take a share of the blame for the team’s no-show, saying staff had pushed the team since former coach Garth Brennan’s axing three weeks ago.
“We’ve squeezed them really hard the last couple of weeks to try and catch up I guess from some stuff that we might’ve been missing,” he said.
“Maybe squeezed them too hard.”
However he also warned the players that their effort over the final five games of the year could leave a stain on their careers.
“The fear is that it is the habit they allow…that becomes acceptable for them individually whether they stay here or whether they move on to other places,” Hodges said.
“And if that’s what they take out of this season, if that’s their legacy moving forward from this season, I think that’s a terrible tragedy.”
Star playmaker Ash Taylor was a non-factor in his first game back since being granted personal leave from the game in early June.
He made six runs for 51 metres, broke one tackle, and committed three errors.
“He’s rusty, Ash, and low on confidence like a lot of people that have time off. He’ll certainly get better with more games,” Hodges said.
“But he was like the rest of us. We were a little off today, the whole group.”