Aug 5th, 2019

Aug 5th, 2019

"Brimson, Arrow and Fotuaika to stay, the rest of you, don't let the door hit you on the way out."

It's the bold $8 million dollar cull that rugby league guru Phil Gould would execute to rescue the Gold Coast Titans if he were in coach Justin Holbrook's shoes, and one he believes is well overdue.

Sunday's 52-point drubbing at the hands of the Roosters was just the latest chapter in the grim story that has been the Titans' 2019 season, arguably the darkest period in the club's 12-year history.

Sitting last on the ladder, Holbrook has inherited a dire situation in the wake of former coach Garth Brennan's axing. But while the club's problems are multi-faceted and won't necessarily be remedied at the drop of a hat, Gould asserts their "inflated" roster is their most pressing issue.

"(They've) got no leadership, no toughness; people that are only here for the money and the nightlife," Gould told Nine's 100% Footy.

The problems are multi-faceted at Gold Coast but their roster stands out as the most pressing (AAP)

"It's always been short-term. Buy a player, pay them whatever and they all end up the same.

"I want Brimson, Arrow, Fotuaika to stay. The rest of you, there's the door."

Star lock Jai Arrow is in demand and there's been speculation he could command a salary of up to $1 million-a-season, either to stay on the Gold Coast or at a rival club. AJ Brimson and Moeika Fotuaika are still yet to fully break out as NRL stars and would be unlikely to command any more than $700,000-a-season between them at this early stage in their careers, although both have clearly got the potential to be worth plenty more in the next two years.

As for the rest, it's a bitter pill to swallow.

While Gould's drastic solution is almost impossible to execute in the short-term, Paul Gallen agreed that their roster was hopelessly out of whack and players were getting paid far more than what they were worth based on performances.

"You need players who want to be there. For me the key is Jai Arrow," he said.

Arrow with monster numbers. (aap)

"He's a million-dollar player coming off contract next year. Someone will pay a million dollars for him. He needs to stay at the Titans for $650k-$700k in order to buy other players. That's what I did at Cronulla. I stayed for less money and we eventually got guys like Jeremy Smith and we built from there.

"As a guy who has a reputation for loving his money, I always stayed at Cronulla for less money than I could have got elsewhere. That's what they need from Jai Arrow.

"They're just buying blokes who are going there for the money. They're on inflated contracts. Whoever is signing these blokes on their contracts should be sacked. Some of the money they're earning is ridiculous.

"Guys are going there at the moment for the big dollars. They cant pay the premium to get players there anymore. They've got to have players there who want to be there."

The idea of relocation has been floated, namely from NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler, as a potential lifeline for the ailing franchise.

Freddy's call to relocate Titans

While speculation has reverberated around the game, whispers of any migration were recently shot down by the club upper-management.

With relocation seemingly off the table for the time being, Brisbane Broncos great Darren Lockyer stressed the Titans needed to redefine their area of representation, and fast.

"The Gold Coast is your heartland ... but I would say anywhere halfway from Brisbane down to the Gold Coast and then just below the border," he said.

"I would say there are a lot of people that follow the Titans that live just below the border. So there's your catchment. It's a starting point, and I think you've got to win the hearts and minds of them. Not just by playing well on the field, I think you've got to do that by engaging the community as well."

Gould backed Lockyer's call to tap into the burgeoning development on NSW's far north coast, stressing the benefits of capturing an entirely new fan base.

Titans set for shock Brisbane move

"I think they've got to broaden the horizon of the area they think they represent. I think there's a whole new market for them in northern NSW," he said.

"I think the face that they're seen as just a Queensland club has been difficult for them, living in the shadow of the Broncos.

"It's a growing area, it needs an NRL team. Sporting franchises haven't worked there because they tend to think the club represents the glitter strip."

Gould also took aim at rugby league icon Mal Meninga who, as the Titans' head of performance and culture, was tasked with delivering an in-depth review of the club's affairs.

Garth Brennan and Mal Meninga (AAP)

Brennan was shown the door off the back of his assessments, but Gould has struggled to identify any accountability on Meninga's part.

"I don't know what Mal's part in all of this is," he said. "He seems to be sitting there doing reviews but not putting his hand up for the results.

"He was brought their for performance and culture and I haven't seen any performance or any culture development in all the time that he's been there. He's got to put his hand up. If he doesn't want to be there, go."

All the more pressing is that for the first time in 28 years the sunshine state is facing the very real prospect of having none of their teams qualify for finals football.

Brisbane Broncos captain Darius Boyd (L). (AAP)

It's a prospect that had Gould flabbergasted, particularly at the wealth of resources available at the finger tips of the Brisbane Broncos.

"If you can challenge for a title once every 10-12 years, fans are pretty happy with that. Other clubs expect a lot more," he said.

"The Broncos who I think are failures over the past 13 years … since they've won a title.

"That's terrible for a club with all their advantage and all the money and all the support they've got. And they've got all of Queensland to pick from, so theirs is a worse result than the Gold Coast in my eyes."