2022 Preview: Gold Coast Titans

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Our next NRL club preview is the Gold Coast Titans - a team seemingly on the up after sneaking into the 2021 finals. Hamish Parker looks at what the boys on Queensland's beachside suburbs might throw at the comp in 2022.

Golden young contingent set to decide fate of Titans' 2022 season

2021 saw the Gold Coast Titans return to finals footy for the first time since 2016, despite a mixed season in which they finished with a losing 10-14 record. The fact that they were able to sneak into eighth position was perhaps a reflection of the stretch between the best and worst teams last year. The most telling shortcoming of their game would have to have been their inconsistency over 80 minutes, with glimpses of scintillating attacking play followed by poor defence. Coach Justin Holbrook will be looking patch this up going into 2022.

Still, there were plenty of positives to come out of last season. In conjunction with their quality attacking play, they were certainly given a return on their investment for the likes of David Fifita and Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, both of whom had good first seasons for the club. They also unearthed young guns like Jayden Campbell and Toby Sexton, which should hold them in good stead going into the future - both having gained valuable NRL experience.

Gold Coast are heading into a new era in 2022, led largely by young players with little time spent in first grade. The club will be looking to 22-year-old captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, as well as a host of other young stars to take the team forward after the departure of halfback and former captain Jamal Fogarty to the Canberra Raiders.

It's a big gamble to take on such young and inexperienced players, but the Titans have put their faith behind them and will be hoping their youthfulness can give them a point of difference over other teams to give them the edge.

Why they'll win it

The Titans' forward pack is up there with one of the better packs in the competition. There is so much strike with the likes of Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, David Fifita and Moeaki Fotuaika. Then, there's the experience of Kevin Proctor, Jarrod Wallace and new recruit Isaac Liu who will be a tremendous addition to the squad after previously winning two premierships at the Roosters. This forward pack can definitely get over the top of most other packs in the NRL and lay a platform for young halves in Sexton and AJ Brimson, which will be crucial if the Titans are to succeed this year.

Why they won't

There is a glaring lack of experience in key positions for the Gold Coast.

Five-eighth AJ Brimson is the most capped NRL player in the spine with just 63 games to his name. All other members of the spine including Jayden Campbell, Toby Sexton and Erin Clark have only 41 games of experience between the three of them.

Further, their captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui is only 22 years of age and is just short of 50 NRL games. There's no doubt Fa'asuamaleaui proved himself as a leader of this side last season, but it is a big ask of someone so young and inexperienced to captain a club, especially when many of his teammates are also so new when it comes playing first grade.

Key players

David Fifita will be instrumental if the Titans are to shake up the competition this year. An incredibly damaging ball-runner, he also has speed and skill to back it up that not many his size possess. Fifita needs to go to another level this year and really cement himself as someone the young squad can look to when the going gets tough. If he can do that and go looking for opportunities with the ball when his teams need it most, the Titans may just be able to exceed expectations on the back of this.

Five-eighth AJ Brimson will also need to lift his game in 2022 as he will be the most established member of a very young spine. Brimson will move from fullback to accommodate rising star Jayden Campbell and will have to adapt quickly to the positional change, or that spine may find themselves lost. As a member of the squad who has already played State of Origin, Brimson will be looked to by players like Campbell and Sexton to help lead them around the paddock.

Breakthrough player to watch

The Titans moving rep fullback Brimson out of position to make room for Jayden Campbell clearly shows the club hold a very high opinion of the son of Preston.

Campbell only has seven NRL games to his name but has been very impressive in all of his outings in first grade, with 5 tries and 3 try assists already to his credit. The speed and athleticism Jayden possesses is certainly going to cause headaches for opposition teams throughout 2022, which will be very exciting to watch.

Player Movements

Inbound: Isaac Liu (Sydney), Paul Turner (Warriors), Aaron Booth (Melbourne), Will Smith (Parramatta)

Outbound: Jai Whitbread, Sam Stone (Leigh (UK)), Jonus Pearson (CQ Capras (QRL)), Tyrone Peachey (Wests Tigers), Jamal Fogarty (Canberra), Ash Taylor (Warriors), Mitch Rein (Parramatta), Anthony Don (retired)

Best 17

1. Jayden Campbell
2. Phillip Sami
3. Brian Kelly
4. Patrick Herbert
5. Corey Thompson
6. AJ Brimson
7. Toby Sexton
8. Moeaki Fotuaika
9. Erin Clark
10. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui
11. Kevin Proctor
12. David Fifita
13. Isaac Liu

14. Tanah Boyd
15. Jarrod Wallace
16. Jaimin Jolliffe
17. Beau Fermor

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