Tim Williams
SC Playbook founder, 2nd NRL 2020, 43rd BBL 21/22'
Squad breakdown: Gold Coast Titans 2024 Supercoach analysis
2020 Supercoach runner-up Tim Williams analyses the buy credentials of the Titans squad leading into Round 1.
NRL
January 25, 2024
The Gold Coast Titans enter 2024 with plenty of optimism with Dezzy Hasler at the helm.
They boast an impressive roster with a plethora of attacking talent, so much so that it’s forced star playmaker AJ Brimson to centre.
Supercoach-wise that brings plenty of promise ahead of round 1, bolstered significantly by a very friendly draw to start the season.
Pre-season trials will be a key watch to see what style of footy Dezzy has the side playing, and the players that’ll benefit as a result.
Let’s take a look at the Titans Supercoach prospects to start the season.
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Embed from Getty ImagesTitans predicted team
1. Keano Kini
2. Alofiana Khan-Pereira
3. AJ Brimson
4. Brian Kelly
5. Phillip Sami
6. Kieran Foran
7. Tanah Boyd
8. Moeaki Fotuaika
9. Sam Verrills
10. Tino Fa’asuamalaeaui
11. Beau Fermor
12. Klese Haas
13. Isaac Liu
14. Erin Clark
15. Jaimin Jolliffe
16. Keenan Palasia
17. Jacob Alick
Unavailable: David Fifita (pec, round 4/5), Jayden Campbell (patella, round 4/5)
Analysis
AJ Brimson will shift to centre this season to accommodate Jayden Campbell starting at fullback when he returns from injury.
Campbell is reportedly out until round 4 or 5, which will see Keano Kini start at fullback.
Beau Fermor returns from a lengthy injury lay-off, whether it’ll be on his preferred left edge which would shift David Fifita back to the right on return from injury remains to be seen.
Fifita is out until around about round 4 or 5, with Klese Haas likely to start on the edge in his place, while Jacob Alick is also an option.
There is a question mark on the bench and whether or not Des Hasler opts for a utility back or another forward in Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui?
Embed from Getty ImagesDraw
Dragons (H), bye, Bulldogs (A), Dolphins (H), Cowboys (A), Raiders (A), Sea Eagles (H)
First five rounds rating: 7/10
Guns
David Fifita ($832,100, 2RF)
At the time of writing, Big Fifi is currently in just 9% of teams to start the season.
Owning the best 2RF in Supercoach, with a ceiling as high as most players in the game, is pretty enticing.
The obvious issue is trying to squeeze him into a squad when also potentially paying up for the likes of Ponga, Cleary, Nicho etc.
I look at those three players and see the potential for 150+ scores at any point that could get you off to a flyer.
Fifita scored six tonnes last season which is incredible for a forward, with a top of 121 points.
*UPDATE: Fifita isn’t expected to return until round 4.
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Brilliant yes, but again not the 150+ scores of other players.
His first tonne wasn’t until round 9.
He averaged 67 in his first three games last season and 62 in his first three games of 2022.
He’s a big boy that has to compete with plenty of heat in March without too much match fitness under his belt.
Defences are also significantly tighter earlier in the season so there’s likely less chance for attacking output, although when Big Fifi is on a tear you can’t really stop him.
We know how good he is so I can see the temptation, but I’m happy to avoid and put him in my plans for round 6-8 hopefully at a decent discount.
Embed from Getty ImagesTino Fa’asuamaleaui ($791,500, FRF-2RF)
At a hefty price for a prop you can pretty well replicate the analysis on Fifita above.
One major difference is that at 2RF there is plenty of quality options, whereas FRF is pretty bleak, so there is temptation to just start with a top tier option in Tino.
He averaged a monster 78 points last season, up substantially from his 67 the year prior.
Like Fifita, there are issues around his early season output in the heat and coupling that with match fitness.
In his first 10 games of 2023 he averaged 67.3. Hardly bad, but also well down on his season average.
In his first 10 games of 2022 he averaged just 57.8.
If Hasler names a utility back on the bench it will help lock in bigger minutes early, but a four forward bench would be a concern.
Not for me, but again a player I’ll look to bring in as soon as I can.
Embed from Getty ImagesMid-rangers
AJ Brimson ($587,100, FLB)
Oh AJ, you’re very tempting.
Playing centre, the output will be down, so maybe that seems stupid?
However, there’ll be positional updates after the trials and before the start of the season, so Brimmo will surely get dual CTW-FLB positioning.
I’m not sure how Dez Hasler will inject Brimson at centre, but with his playmaking ability I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t play a roaming role.
The trial games will be an absolutely vital opportunity to see his game unfold.
He averaged 58 points last season from 71 minutes, well reduced due to a number of in-game injuries.
If available at centre, and if his style of play in the trials looks appealing, I’ll be very interested in starting with him.
Embed from Getty ImagesBeau Fermor ($467,300, 2RF)
Fermor is somewhat enticing, but to repeat myself once again the trials will be a big watch.
He’s returning from an ACL injury which notoriously correlates to fairly poor scoring.
The difference with Fermor to other cases is that it was a 2023 pre-season injury, so not only has he had ample time to recover, but he starts at a discounted rate this season.
At $467k with a player of his quality it’s certainly tempting if he looks up to scratch in the trials.
Another concern is the rise of David Fifita last season which will command plenty of ball.
If Fermor plays on the right edge he might not see a lot of quality footy as Fifita is the go-to guy in attack.
If Fermor switches back to his preferred left edge outside Kieran Foran I’ll be far more interested.
He averaged 65 points in 2022, but that did include a whopping 11 tries for the season.
Embed from Getty ImagesJayden Campbell ($456,200, FLB-5/8)
Campbell is expected to get the nod at fullback in round 1.
My initial thoughts around Campbell were a bit hesitant, then I ran through a few numbers that for the most part validated the pre-season Supercoach hype.
Firstly, he’s dual FLB-5/8 which is glorious with 5/8 being fairly weak to start the season.
He’s priced at $456k based on a 45 point average in 57 minutes per game in 2023.
He averaged 60.4 in nine 80 minute games at fullback last season.
He was also in and out of the team, playing different roles which would have hindered combinations vastly.
It should also be noted he went through a patch of poor form at fullback early last season, producing scores of 29, 35, 36, 55 and 39.
He’s far from a lock in pick, and he could easily do similar to start this season, but at the price with a great draw to start the season I like the option with plenty of upside.
Update: Campbell isn’t expected to return until round 4
Cheapies
Keano Kini ($287,900, FLB)
No need to go into detail on Kini as of yet as he’s not likely to play round one, but on all reports he is crushing the pre-season on the Gold Coast and is very highly regarded.
He’s every chance to feature as a cheapie at some stage of the season, although he’s only available at fullback which isn’t ideal.
Just on Fifita’s lower scores earlier in the season last year, I vaguely recall he was shuffled around positionally (right v left 2rf), was that earlier in the season or was it the year prior?
From memory it was the year before, did a bit of shuffling. I thought he was always left with Foz last year.