Trevor Gillmeister will up his involvement at the Gold Coast Titans this year as Garth Brennan looks to improve the leaky defence that cost the NRL club in his rookie season.

The former Queensland hard man made the odd appearance at Parkwood last year but will be a constant presence in 2019 as part of what is quickly becoming a star-studded staffing list.

Gillmeister, a former Brisbane premiership player and Titans assistant, had worked with the Maroons as a defensive specialist before being flicked last year as Kevin Walters put the broom through his staff.

Brennan has snapped him up though, tasking him to focus on first-up contact with a squad that leaked 582 points – the fourth-worst in the NRL – last year.

“It is true that our defence last year suffered at times,” Brennan told NRL.com.

“A couple of one-on-one misses in defence was probably the difference between playing semi-final football and not because it cost us games.

“Gilly is another voice in the club and a well-respected guy who has a bit of clout in the game so he is someone I think the players can learn a lot from.”

Gillmeister’s appointment follows that of Australian coach Mal Meninga as head of performance and culture.

Brennan has also made changes to his physical performance team, while former Touch Football Australia boss Steve Mitchell took over from Graham Annesley as CEO in November when Annesley was head-hunted for a return to NRL headquarters.