The Gold Coast Titans are the 16th Team in the National Rugby League, playing their inaugural season in the upcoming 2007 NRL Competition. As their name states, they are based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Contents
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* 1 History of the Titans' bid
* 2 Acceptance
* 3 Search for a name
* 4 Current squad (for 2007)
* 5 Coaches
* 6 Sponsorship
* 7 Home ground
* 8 Records and Trivia
* 9 Famous Fans
* 10 References
* 11 External links

[edit] History of the Titans' bid

In 2003 Michael Searle and Paul Broughton began pushing for the re-instatment of a Gold Coast Team in the National Rugby League in 2006. In the second quarter of 2004 the Gold Coast Consortium, as they had become known, announced their team name and jersey at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre during an episode of Channel 9's The Footy Show. The team was to be known as the Gold Coast Dolphins and their colours would be white, jade and orange. The Dolphins moniker was very popular, however the Redcliffe Dolphins, which is the Queensland Cup's most successful team, threatened legal action if the Dolphin's name was used in the Gold Coast team.

In mid-2004 the NRL announced that after viewing submissions from the Gold Coast Dolphins, the Central Coast Bears and the Wellington Ocras (Killer Whales) bids, there would not be a 16th team in the 2006 NRL Competition. The major hurdles for the Gold Coast team, which was by far the favourite to get the nod if the 16th license was granted, was the use of the Dolphins name, and that their homeground, Carrara Stadium, was an oval and only seated 16,000.

[edit] Acceptance

Since the rejection of the Gold Coast's bid in 2004, the consortium did not give up in their quest for a Gold Coast NRL team. They dropped the Dolphins nickname, and the Queensland Government announced that they would spend $100 million on a new, rectangular stadium for the Gold Coast Team, should they be accepted. On May 27, 2005, the NRL CEO David Gallop announced that the Gold Coast had been accepted into the 2007 NRL competition. This coincided with the announcing of a new television deal with Channel 9, taking effect from 2007.

[edit] Search for a name

The Gold Coast RLFC, along with a Gold Coast radio station, set up a competition where listeners could submit possible names for the new team. This was shortlisted into 10 names, and people could vote on which of the ten they most preferred on the team's then-website, www.goldcoastrugbyleague.com.au. These 10 names were narrowed down to 3, which were:

* Gold Coast Titans
* Gold Coast Stingers
* Gold Coast Pirates

The most popular name was the Titans, and the team name Gold Coast Titans was announced on 21 September, 2005.

[edit] Current squad (for 2007)

As of 16/09/2006 the club has officially signed 26 players for the 2007 season. These players being:
Player Position Height Weight Previous Club
Ritchie Mathers England Full Back 180 cm/5'11" 84 kg/185 lb Leeds Rhinos
Steve Turner Australia Full Back/Wing 180 cm/5'11" 84 kg/185 lb Melbourne Storm
Brian Carney Republic of Ireland Wing 180 cm/5'11" 90 kg/198 lb Newcastle Knights
Matthew Petersen United States Wing 181 cm/5'11" 91 kg/201 lb Parramatta Eels
Brett Delaney Australia Centre 186 cm/6'1" 96 kg/212 lb Parramatta Eels
Josh Graham Australia Centre 190 cm/6'3" 98 kg/216 lb Western Force
Luke O'Dwyer Australia Centre/Lock 181 cm/5'11" 88 kg/194 lb Parramatta Eels
Lelea Paea Australia Centre 183 cm/6'0" 96 kg/212 lb Sydney Roosters
Jake Webster New Zealand Centre/Wing 182 cm/6'0" 94 kg/207 lb Melbourne Storm
Preston Campbell Australia Five Eighth 165 cm/5'5" 75 kg/165 lb Penrith Panthers
Matt Hilder Australia Five Eighth 186 cm/6'1" 100 kg/220 lb Cronulla Sharks
Scott Prince Australia Half Back 177 cm/5'10" 81 kg/179 lb Wests Tigers
Luke Bailey Austr