Reporter Brent Read has taken aim at Titans coach Des Hasler over his two-year tenure at the club, labelling it a “disaster”.
The Titans finally ran out of patience with Hasler on Monday, and sacked him with a year left to run on his contract.
Hasler had a three-year deal with the club through until the end of 2026, but he will now depart at the end of this season, with Josh Hannay appointed to take over.
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Hannay will join the club on a three-year deal beginning in 2026.
The Titans have only won five games under Hasler this season, and sit in last position on the ladder with two rounds remaining, after finishing 14th in Hasler’s first season with the club last year.
Read didn’t hold back in his assessment of Hasler’s stint as Titans coach.
“Ultimately coaches are judged on results and it hasn’t worked,” Read said on NRL 360.
“For whatever reason, the problem is it hasn’t worked on the field but it hasn’t worked off the field as well.
“I don’t want to be over the top. It’s been a disaster off the field.
“Des has not embraced the Gold Coast community.
“There’s obviously been talk about cutting off press conferences, not making players accessible to the media.
“The Titans are involved in a turf war with the AFL.”
Read defended The Courier-Mail reporter Travis Meyn, who was involved in a heated exchange with Hasler in the post-game press conference following the Titans’ defeat to the Warriors on Saturday night.
“I don’t have an issue with what happened in that press conference,” Read added.
“Travis has had to put up with Des, again, I don’t want to be disrespectful to Des, but he is a hard dude to deal with.
“And when you’re on the Gold Coast, and Des is acting the way he has been the last two years, that’s two years of frustration from Trav coming out at a press conference.
“So I understand why Trav went at him like that, and Des is quite within his rights to sit there and dead bat it like he did.”
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Read denied suggestions Meyn was too negative in his reporting on the Titans.
“Travis writes a lot of positive stories about that club. I’ve seen him write stories about Kieran Foran that were ridiculously positive,” Read said.
“He’s written a lot of stories about people at that club that are really positive yarns.
“But it’s hard with a guy like Des who restricts media access.”
