New owners will bring stability to Titans: Sattler

The new owners of the Gold Coast Titans will give the club stability and a road map for the future in the short term, but have plenty of work to do to make the club a success, according to Scott Sattler.

In the wake of the NRL awarding the club's ownership licence to the Rebecca Frizelle-Darryl Kelly consortium, Sattler – a former Gold Coast player and the Titans' inaugural general manager of football – believed the future would be more stable.

"In the initial stages the new owners will offer stability and a road map for the club's short-term future," Sattler told NRL.com

"When the NRL owned it, there was no road map because it was just in a holding pattern.

"But success will only come when you have a top-four team and unfortunately when that doesn't happen on the Gold Coast there is always going to be another event or something else on the calendar people will consider worthwhile going to.

"You have your hardcore 5000 to 6000 supporters who are going to turn up rain, hail or shine.

"But it is not until you get a top-four side that people will sit up and take notice. You have to capture people's attention on the Gold Coast."

The new owners of the Gold Coast Titans will give the club stability and a road map for the future in the short term, but have plenty of work to do to make the club a success, according to Scott Sattler.

In the wake of the NRL awarding the club's ownership licence to the Rebecca Frizelle-Darryl Kelly consortium, Sattler – a former Gold Coast player and the Titans' inaugural general manager of football – believed the future would be more stable.

"In the initial stages the new owners will offer stability and a road map for the club's short-term future," Sattler told NRL.com

"When the NRL owned it, there was no road map because it was just in a holding pattern.

"But success will only come when you have a top-four team and unfortunately when that doesn't happen on the Gold Coast there is always going to be another event or something else on the calendar people will consider worthwhile going to.

"You have your hardcore 5000 to 6000 supporters who are going to turn up rain, hail or shine.

"But it is not until you get a top-four side that people will sit up and take notice. You have to capture people's attention on the Gold Coast."

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Sattler's famous father John was part of the consortium which started the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants in 1988. Scott played for the Chargers and Seagulls before playing a major role in recruitment and helping the Titans getting off the ground in 2007.

To create the success the Titans crave, Sattler is adamant the new owners must appoint a recruitment manager as a matter of urgency.

"They have to get together with the head coach and CEO and sign a smart and astute recruitment manager to look after the top end recruiting all the way down to the exceptional 16, 17 and 18-year-olds that are going to be the future of the club," he said.

"I think that is what the Gold Coast has been missing. A lot of their signings have been on a wing and a prayer and due to relationships with (player) managers.

"But they need to be really strategic about their recruitment and the person who oversees all that must be on the same page with the coach and the owners."

Sattler said the club's original recruitment strategy targeted Scott Prince, Luke Bailey, Mat Rogers and Preston Campbell.

"We identified those four key marquee players who other players want to play alongside, so they become recruiting weapons themselves," he said.

"We also wanted to recruit guys who had previously played footy on the Gold Coast like Luke O'Dwyer and Anthony Laffranchi.

"On top of that we identified an impressive group of 16- to 18-year-olds like Will Matthews, David Mead, Bodene Thompson, Kevin Gordon and Ryan James who you want to be 10- or 12-year players at your club."

In February of 2015 the NRL terminated the Titans' licence due to a dire financial situation and took over the running of the club itself.

Frizelle remained as chair of the board after the takeover until resigning recently to focus on her ownership aspirations with Kelly, who had previously sunk $5 million into the Titans in a bid to save the club from financial disaster. Kelly had also stepped down from his position on the board.

Sattler said a lot of fans on the Gold Coast became disillusioned with the Titans during the club's slide on and off the field following the success of 2009 and 2010.

"As an owner, you must have a deep emotional attachment to the club that you own, which Rebecca Frizelle and Darryl Kelly both have," he said.

"The Frizelle Group has been involved since day one with the Gold Coast Titans and done everything they can to support the club.

"Darryl Kelly was the guy willing to stick up and fight for the club when no-one else believed in it.

"When you are an owner you have to wear so many hats and understand how an operation works. They are both good operators with their own companies, so they also tick that box."

Sattler's famous father John was part of the consortium which started the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants in 1988. Scott played for the Chargers and Seagulls before playing a major role in recruitment and helping the Titans getting off the ground in 2007.

To create the success the Titans crave, Sattler is adamant the new owners must appoint a recruitment manager as a matter of urgency.

"They have to get together with the head coach and CEO and sign a smart and astute recruitment manager to look after the top end recruiting all the way down to the exceptional 16, 17 and 18-year-olds that are going to be the future of the club," he said.

"I think that is what the Gold Coast has been missing. A lot of their signings have been on a wing and a prayer and due to relationships with (player) managers.

"But they need to be really strategic about their recruitment and the person who oversees all that must be on the same page with the coach and the owners."

Sattler said the club's original recruitment strategy targeted Scott Prince, Luke Bailey, Mat Rogers and Preston Campbell.

"We identified those four key marquee players who other players want to play alongside, so they become recruiting weapons themselves," he said.

"We also wanted to recruit guys who had previously played footy on the Gold Coast like Luke O'Dwyer and Anthony Laffranchi.

"On top of that we identified an impressive group of 16- to 18-year-olds like Will Matthews, David Mead, Bodene Thompson, Kevin Gordon and Ryan James who you want to be 10- or 12-year players at your club."

In February of 2015 the NRL terminated the Titans' licence due to a dire financial situation and took over the running of the club itself.

Frizelle remained as chair of the board after the takeover until resigning recently to focus on her ownership aspirations with Kelly, who had previously sunk $5 million into the Titans in a bid to save the club from financial disaster. Kelly had also stepped down from his position on the board.

Sattler said a lot of fans on the Gold Coast became disillusioned with the Titans during the club's slide on and off the field following the success of 2009 and 2010.

"As an owner, you must have a deep emotional attachment to the club that you own, which Rebecca Frizelle and Darryl Kelly both have," he said.

"The Frizelle Group has been involved since day one with the Gold Coast Titans and done everything they can to support the club.

"Darryl Kelly was the guy willing to stick up and fight for the club when no-one else believed in it.

"When you are an owner you have to wear so many hats and understand how an operation works. They are both good operators with their own companies, so they also tick that box."