Laughing off suggestions he has accepted a poisoned chalice, the Gold Coast Titans’ third boss in just over 12 months – Graham Annesley – says he is in the NRL club for the long term.
But he may be without the influence of majority owner Michael Searle who looks set to scale down his involvement in the football department under a mooted upcoming restructure.
While Annesley said it was too early for him to speculate on possible changes at the club, he wanted to put his own stamp on the Titans as CEO.
“Of course my role is not to come in and continue as we have been,” said Annesley, who on Wednesday quit his job as NSW Sports Minister and was previously the NRL’s chief operating officer and a Test referee.
“I want to put my own stamp on it.
“I know there is a lot of very committed staff here, very committed football personnel, a good playing group but we have to ensure that we have some stability, some leadership and we reconnect with the community.
“We have to improve that because without fans …a football club has no reason for existence.”
It may lead to some anxious moments for coach John Cartwright as the Titans face the possibility of missing the NRL finals for the third straight season.
Cartwright is contracted until the end of 2016 but may come under pressure as part of a review of the Titans’ under-resourced football department.
Annesley takes up the Titans reins in September after Searle resigned under mounting pressure in July last year and David May lasted barely 11 months in the job.
Asked if he thought it was a poisoned chalice, Annesley said: “I wouldn’t be here unless I was confident that this was the right decision for me and the club long term.
“This is not a short term option for me. For me to up-end my life …and relocate to the Gold Coast has been a big move.”
Searle is believed to have helped lure Annesley to the Titans after they bonded ahead of the Gold Coast’s NRL re-entry.
However, Titans chairman Darryl Kelly said Searle looked set to concentrate more on their Titans 4 Tomorrow community programs rather than their football operations in the future.
“Michael is still involved in player negotiations and retention,” he said.
“But we are undergoing a review of the football department at the moment and we are moving very closely to making some announcements to the structure of new positions within the football department.”
Kelly predicted a bright future under Annesley after the Titans held onto the NRL licence by clearing millions in debt.
“Graham’s personality and character represent integrity and stability and all those things that I think this club sorely needs,” he said.
“There have been a number of building blocks that have been critical to the establishment of this club’s long term (future) which have been missing with all the dramas of the past years.”
