By Scott Bailey in Sydney
Josh Hannay insists Gold Coast have already turned a corner as the new Titans coach prepares to roll out his first-choice spine in the NRL for the first time.
Unlike his rival Todd Payten, Hannay enters Sunday’s clash against North Queensland in Townsville as a coach with time on his side.
He will welcome back Jayden Campbell from a hamstring strain with the livewire No.7 to partner AJ Brimson and replace Lachlan Ilias in the halves.
Hannay has been on the Gold Coast for a little over four months, but it’s already clear Campbell will be a crucial figure of his new Titans era.
One of the coach’s first acts was to convince Campbell to knock back bigger money in Perth and sign a five-year extension on the Gold Coast until 2031.
Campbell is one of the Titans’ reasons for hope. In his one pre-season game alongside a full-strength spine, Gold Coast thumped Melbourne 42-12.
But in the weeks since with Campbell sidelined, the Titans have been flogged 50-10 and outlasted 18-14 by the Dolphins.
But Hannay is confident things have already changed, as evidenced by last week’s defeat to the Dolphins.
“I can’t speak for the guys that have been here for a number of years, but their comms to me is that there’s a marked difference in how that loss felt,” Hannay said.
“They could feel things about that performance that they’ve not felt.
“They could feel the toughness and the grit and the desperation. Not all losses are created equal. So I think they feel a significant difference.”
Hannay said he needed to remind players that while they wanted results, there was good reason for belief.
“When you perform the way they did last Sunday, it was admirable, it was tough, it was brave,” he said.
“But to not get the result for the players, it can be a worry, to be honest. In the back of their mind, there’s some negativity around it.
“We put all this effort in, but didn’t get the result.
“It’s our job as a staff to remind them you do this over and over and over again, you’ll start to win over and over and over again.”
Payten could desperately do with that kind of patience right now.
The Cowboys mentor is in a fight to save his job after surviving an underwhelming 2025 before two straight losses to start this year.
“I’m well aware of the noise and what (Sunday) means, but the focus is here on the group and the players themselves,” Payten said on Friday.
“I’m big enough, old enough and ugly enough to understand what it means. It’s not pleasant in the meantime, but it is what it is.”
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