Last seasonย placing: 14th
A huge 2015 awaits the Gold Coast Titans both on and off the field. ย They enter their ninth season as a franchise with a new coach in Neil Henry after the previous eight hadย John Cartwright in charge. ย Foundation players Luke Bailey and Ashley Harrisonย moved into retirement, with Mark Minichiello, Albert Kelly and Maurice Blair heading to the new era in Super League. ย The Titans must turn around their 2014 form to keep sponsors and fans interested in the glamour strip club.
Key Players:ย this year will come down to the leadership and maturity of Nate Myles, Greg Bird, Luke Douglas and Dave Taylor. ย Bird will have a point to prove after a boozy wedding down in Byron Bay in the off-season. ย Taylor returned to the Queensland squad after a two year absence and will continue to be a threat on the fringes but as teams work outย to curb his threat, coach Henry may need to re-think the strapping back-rowers game.
Drawbacks:ย losing so many experienced players during the off-season will mean the Titans will take two steps back before going forward. ย You can’t replace overnight the experience and dedication of Minichiello, Harrison and Bailey. ย But what you can build is for the future by buying fringe first grade players like Matt Robinson, Lachlan Burr and David Hala. ย You would expect the Titans to struggle with new combinations in the halves early on which could affect their scoring chances out wide. ย Off-field the Titans still have some issues to deal with including moving into a new training facility and improvingย their finances after the failed Centre of Excellence at Robina.
Story of 2015:ย Josh Hoffman has a lot of expectation on his shoulders after moving from ย the Brisbane Broncos. ย A change is as good as a holiday for the twenty-six year old now in his eighth season at the top level. ย He missed out on Four Nations selection for the Kiwis this year. ย Hoffman with a good season could return to somewhere near his 2013 form where he scored fifteen tries despite Brisbane’s failure to make the finals.
Predictions
Ladder: To miss the top eight
Top Tryscorer: Anthony Don
Top Pointscorer: Aiden Sezer
Player of the Year: Luke Douglas
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