NRL news: David Fifita theory shot down amid ugly claims surrounding Gold Coast Titans coach Des Hasler
Gold Coast captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui has shot down suggestions David Fifita's relationship with coach Des Hasler is "untenable", amid reports the forward has been shopped around to rival clubs. Fifita was spectacularly axed for the Magic Round loss to the Bulldogs after paying the price for the Titans' 50-18 thrashing by North Queensland the week before.
It came after Fifita reportedly made a stunning request to play on the left edge of the Gold Coast attack, where teammate Beau Fermor has been impressing this year. It's understood Hasler rejected Fifita's request and dumped him to reserve grade, where the former Maroons forward featured for the Ipswich Jets in their 32-0 loss to Northern Pride over the weekend, before suffering a fresh injury blow.
The Gold Coast titans have responded to reports David Fifita's relationship with coach Des Hasler has become untenable. Pic: Getty
Fifita had pre-season surgery on his troublesome ankle but it's since emerged that the 25-year-old has been experiencing complications that have required pain-killing injections. Fifita has reportedly been playing through pain for the opening nine rounds, which would explain why his form has been so inconsistent in 2025.
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
The hulking forward has since been ruled out of Gold Coast's NRL round 10 clash at Newcastle on Friday night and the Jets' home clash with the Townsville Blackhawks on Sunday. No timeframe has been given on an expected return date for Fifita at the Titans but Code Sports went as far as suggesting that he may have played his last game for the club due to a breakdown in the relationship with coach Hasler.
But Gold Coast skipper Fa'asuamaleaui - who is close with Fifita - rubbished those suggestions and praised the way the Maroons forward handled his controversial axing, before the latest injury setback. Fifita's attitude has also come under scrutiny from critics, with another narrative emerging that he hasn't been putting in maximum effort at training. But Fa'asuamaleaui has defended his teammate and says those claims about Fifita are simply not true.
"Dave was really good last week with all the media talk and a lot of things being said," Fa'asuamaleaui said. "He turned up with the right attitude and got us ready to play the game on the weekend." Hasler addressed the star's axing after the Magic Round loss to the Bulldogs and said Fifita "had some thinking to do in some areas" of his game.
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
RELATED:
Titans captain backs coach after David Fifita axing
But Fa'asuamaleaui said his teammate's relationship with the coach is not the issue, and backed Hasler's call after accepting that Fifita was not playing to the incredible potential he's capable of. "There's some areas he needs to work on in his game and sort some stuff away from (training)," the Titans skipper said about Fifita. "They definitely get along. Des has backed him since the beginning."
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
The Titans have now lost five games in a row and Hasler has started Fifita from the bench in four out of six of the matches he's played. But Fa'asuamaleaui says the entire squad has to accept responsibility for their poor form this season, and revealed he's made sure to check on Fifita's mental wellbeing after his well documented struggles.
Tino Fa'asuamaleaui says teammate and good friend David Fifita has handled his axing at the Titans well and denied reports he's had a falling out with coach Des Hasler. Pic: Getty
"I'm trying to keep him up and making sure he's okay and how his personal life is and his head ...being there as a mate," the Gold Coast captain said. "The coach is the coach for a reason and makes decisions for what's best for the team and club. Whatever the coach says, I back."
Titans CEO Steve Mitchell has also moved to squash reports that Fifita is being shopped around to rival clubs after insisting he remains a huge part of the club's future plans. Fifita is one of Gold Coast's top earners and his $1 million-a-season deal does not run out until the end of 2026. Reports claim Fifita would be willing to take a pay cut to move to a rival club but the Titans say they want him to stay and have not granted the forward permission to speak with other teams.
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
'Dave is an important part of the roster,' Titans CEO Mitchell told Code Sports. 'We expect him to have a big role to play moving forward.' Fifita extended with the Titans last year after backflipping on a big-money move to join the Roosters. He was also linked with a return to the Broncos where salary cap restraints were an obvious issue before ultimately reaffirming his commitment to the Titans.
with AAP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
11 hours ago
- Washington Post
Can South Africa finally break its ICC curse in the WTC final? Conrad confident
LONDON — South Africa is at the business end of another world cricket championship and is haunted by the ghosts of losses past. An infamous failure to win any cricket World Cup, often in heart-breaking fashion, weighs on the Proteas who are preparing for the World Test Championship final against titleholder Australia on Wednesday at Lord's. South Africa's only global title was the Champions Trophy 27 years ago. It has never reached the ODI World Cup final, falling in the semifinals five times. When it got to the climax of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Bridgetown — its first world final since 1998 — it needed 30 runs off 30 balls with six wickets in hand against India. And lost by seven runs. Five of that 11 are in the WTC squad. 'It doesn't weigh heavy on us,' South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said on Monday before practice. 'It's unfair to burden this group with anything that's gone before. But you can't wish things away. We want to and we need to win another ICC event. But whatever tags come along, we don't wear that. 'It's another occasion to set the record straight, to get that first title. And you can only win it if you play in finals, and the more finals you play in you obviously improve your chances of winning. So we've got another chance. We had a chance not so long ago in the West Indies, in the T20 World Cup. Hopefully, this time, we break that duck.' Conrad brought up the choker tag to the team last December in the dressing room at Centurion, where South Africa could clinch a spot in the WTC final with a win against Pakistan. In a chase of 148 to win, South Africa was 27-3 at stumps on day three. 'I thought it was the opportune time to lay down the challenge,' Conrad said. 'If it didn't go our way, we had another chance in Cape Town. It didn't go down ... kindly, but at some stage that conversation needs to be had. It's all about choosing when to have that. So we had it the evening before, and the result worked out okay. 'We touched on it briefly the other day. Around, what were the learnings from that? What sort of response we can expect, and we're looking for.' South Africa starts against Australia as the underdog. A lot is riding on seamers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen restricting the Australian batters. On the batting side, the entire Proteas squad has totaled 22 centuries. Australia star Steve Smith has 36. Conrad was unfazed. 'There's a quiet confidence amongst the batting group,' he said. 'It comes with having gotten hundreds from different players at different stages. Whilst they might not have the superstar names amongst them, as a collective we are pretty confident. 'Guys really go out there and fight for every run, every little contribution. You look at a guy like Tristan Stubbs. He doesn't bowl but you look at his celebrations when wickets get taken. That, for me, is the essence of what this team is about. But hopefully we'll see a few more names on those honors boards around the world. And those batting averages start nudging toward 40 and above, where you know you're on to something really good.' Half of the Proteas squad has never played at Lord's, but Conrad was enlightened and encouraged by advice from Stuart Broad, the England bowling great who retired less than two years ago. Broad was a former Nottinghamshire teammate of South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince. The Proteas staff dined with him on Sunday night and he joined them for practice on Monday. 'If I didn't call time at 10:50 (p.m.), I think he'd probably still be sitting there chatting to us,' Conrad said. 'Everybody walked away, like, 'Yeah, that was great.' Broady included.' Broad advised about the Lord's slope, the Dukes ball, how to bowl to the Australians, and embracing the occasion. 'We get a chance to walk away as the world test champions. Playing Australia, doesn't get any bigger than that,' Conrad said. 'What's gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute. We are quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them. We're a confident bunch. We play well as a unit. If there's any vulnerabilities amongst them, I'm sure we'd be able to exploit that.' ___ AP cricket:
Associated Press
11 hours ago
- Associated Press
Can South Africa finally break its ICC curse in the WTC final? Conrad confident
LONDON (AP) — South Africa is at the business end of another world cricket championship and is haunted by the ghosts of losses past. An infamous failure to win any cricket World Cup, often in heart-breaking fashion, weighs on the Proteas who are preparing for the World Test Championship final against titleholder Australia on Wednesday at Lord's. South Africa's only global title was the Champions Trophy 27 years ago. It has never reached the ODI World Cup final, falling in the semifinals five times. When it got to the climax of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Bridgetown — its first world final since 1998 — it needed 30 runs off 30 balls with six wickets in hand against India. And lost by seven runs. Five of that 11 are in the WTC squad. 'It doesn't weigh heavy on us,' South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said on Monday before practice. 'It's unfair to burden this group with anything that's gone before. But you can't wish things away. We want to and we need to win another ICC event. But whatever tags come along, we don't wear that. 'It's another occasion to set the record straight, to get that first title. And you can only win it if you play in finals, and the more finals you play in you obviously improve your chances of winning. So we've got another chance. We had a chance not so long ago in the West Indies, in the T20 World Cup. Hopefully, this time, we break that duck.' Conrad brought up the choker tag to the team last December in the dressing room at Centurion, where South Africa could clinch a spot in the WTC final with a win against Pakistan. In a chase of 148 to win, South Africa was 27-3 at stumps on day three. 'I thought it was the opportune time to lay down the challenge,' Conrad said. 'If it didn't go our way, we had another chance in Cape Town. It didn't go down ... kindly, but at some stage that conversation needs to be had. It's all about choosing when to have that. So we had it the evening before, and the result worked out okay. 'We touched on it briefly the other day. Around, what were the learnings from that? What sort of response we can expect, and we're looking for.' Proteas batters look overmatched South Africa starts against Australia as the underdog. A lot is riding on seamers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen restricting the Australian batters. On the batting side, the entire Proteas squad has totaled 22 centuries. Australia star Steve Smith has 36. Conrad was unfazed. 'There's a quiet confidence amongst the batting group,' he said. 'It comes with having gotten hundreds from different players at different stages. Whilst they might not have the superstar names amongst them, as a collective we are pretty confident. 'Guys really go out there and fight for every run, every little contribution. You look at a guy like Tristan Stubbs. He doesn't bowl but you look at his celebrations when wickets get taken. That, for me, is the essence of what this team is about. But hopefully we'll see a few more names on those honors boards around the world. And those batting averages start nudging toward 40 and above, where you know you're on to something really good.' Half of the Proteas squad has never played at Lord's, but Conrad was enlightened and encouraged by advice from Stuart Broad, the England bowling great who retired less than two years ago. Broad was a former Nottinghamshire teammate of South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince. The Proteas staff dined with him on Sunday night and he joined them for practice on Monday. 'If I didn't call time at 10:50 (p.m.), I think he'd probably still be sitting there chatting to us,' Conrad said. 'Everybody walked away, like, 'Yeah, that was great.' Broady included.' Broad advised about the Lord's slope, the Dukes ball, how to bowl to the Australians, and embracing the occasion. 'We get a chance to walk away as the world test champions. Playing Australia, doesn't get any bigger than that,' Conrad said. 'What's gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute. We are quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them. We're a confident bunch. We play well as a unit. If there's any vulnerabilities amongst them, I'm sure we'd be able to exploit that.' ___ AP cricket:
Washington Post
15 hours ago
- Washington Post
Fagerson becomes first injury casualty for Lions as Bealham called up for Australia rugby tour
DUBLIN — Scotland prop Zander Fagerson was ruled out of the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia because of injury on Monday, with Ireland international Finlay Bealham called up as a replacement. It adds to the growing concerns about the tighthead prop situation with the Lions, because Tadhg Furlong is nursing a calf injury and Will Stuart will only link up late with the squad as he is playing for Bath in the English Premiership final on Saturday.
