Before I start the article proper I want to state that this is my first real experience in writing about rugby league, so if I suck worse than the Titans, that is why.

And if it sounds like I am making excuses, it is because I am. Anyway for my first article on this site I am going to talk about the upcoming 2016 season by giving a team preview on each team, sorted via ascending order of where I think they will end up on the ladder).

In the previews I will just talk about the teams, their strengths, weaknesses, best players, worst players, my expectations for them and what they should do about recruitment in 2016.

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Basically, I will just ramble on about a team until I get bored. Also, while I think I have an above average knowledge on most sides, I don’t know everything about them. So if I miss some exciting youngster for your favourite team then I apologise. So let’s get on with this, and talk about the saddest-on-paper team in the modern era.

I really didn’t want to put the Titans here on the bottom of the ladder. Firstly, because I have a bit of a soft spot for them and secondly I was not as down on their squad as a lot of people were, mainly because I rate Kane Elgey incredibly highly.

I think the kid is a future superstar. In fact I actually had them at 13th, despite the DCE backflip.

However the second it was announced that Roberts was leaving I put them at last, and it was only made worse for the Gold Coast when Elgey was announced to have done his ACL.

The Roberts situation was basically the equivalent of a homeless man being robbed by Rupert Murdoch of a 50 dollar note, while the injury to Elgey is the equivalent to the same homeless man dropping his other 50 dollar note down a storm drain during rain while he was still recovering from that robbery.

They are just completely done. Their roster is bad, their spine is awful and most of their backs wouldn’t get a first grade spot in any other club.



But, let’s take a look at their strongest side.

1. Josh Hoffman

2. Anthony Don

3. William Zillman

4. Nene MacDonald

5. David Mead

6. Tyrone Roberts

7. Ashley Taylor

8. Luke Douglas

9. Nathan Friend

10. David Shillington

11. Chris McQueen

12. Zeb Taia

13. Greg Bird

14. Kierran Moseley

15. Ryan James

16. Agnatius Paasi

17. Nathaniel Peteru

Strengths

Damn that side sucks. I mean gosh, what even are the strengths of this side?

The second row is all quality. Greg Bird is a very good player, Chris McQueen is a former SOO player, Zeb Taia is a very good toiler and Ryan James was in the frame for rep selection last year with his form.

The youngsters of the squad also look promising, especially Paasi after his ridiculous performance in the Nines. He was my player of the tournament. And Nene MacDonald is a very good youngster and will have a breakout season this year.

I am also a fan of Neil Henry as a rebuilding sort of coach. He set the groundwork for the recent success of the Cowboys with his very smart recruiting. But those are very specific and small positives, and this is where those positives end for the club.

Weaknesses

Where do I even start with this side’s weaknesses? Most of the side is a weakness.

I may have said this previously, but their backs are disgusting, especially the fullback. Josh Hoffman is a centre, but I put him at fullback because William Zillman provides nothing. Literally nothing.



He is like Mario in Mario Kart, he has nothing unique, and is just bland across the board.

The halves are also just as horrible. Roberts proved beyond reasonable doubt last year that although he has potential, he consistently fails to use it.

Ashley Taylor is far too young to handle the pressure that will be put on him this year. So three quarters of their spine is horrible. Nathan Friend should not be the best part of your spine, he just shouldn’t.

He is an alright player who has a decent backflip in him (something he shares with DCE actually) but you have problems if he is your most talented spine member.

Expectations

This is a team with solid forwards, but really bad backs and halves. They will struggle to post points, struggle to build pressure and just well struggle in general.

Most other teams have a roster twice as good as the Titans’. From what I could tell from the nines and discussion with Gold Coast fans, they do have a nice crop of juniors coming up, which is alright but that won’t help them at all this season.

Conclusion

The Titans are a team that are at rock bottom at the moment, fortunately for them though the only way is up and they have a lot of cap space. If they just get through this year, get a decent centre and maybe another forward then I think they will be alright in a few years. But for now, the fans just need to grit their teeth and get through a year or two of awfulness.