BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 23: Coach Justin Holbrook of the Titans looks dejected at a post match press conference after the round eight NRL match between the Dolphins and Gold Coast Titans at Suncorp Stadium on April 23, 2023 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Hours after being sacked by the Gold Coast Titans, Justin Holbrook reveals how his morning unfolded and that he didn’t see it coming.
The move by the Titans has caused the club to go into crisis, with senior advisor Mal Meninga blasting the club due to Holbrook’s release. It will also see Des Hasler return to a head coaching role.
Speaking to the Courier Mail, Holbrook broke his silence on his termination ahead of the Titans’ game against the Brisbane Broncos on Sunday.
“I just can’t believe it, I feel awful. Totally gutted,” Holbrook said.
“I did not see this coming at all, that’s what I am pissed off about.
“I could understand if they said, ‘Look you have three games or whatever time period to do something’, but to be moved on like this, I’m still coming to terms with it.
“If they were a bit more open about the way things were heading, I would have been able to digest this, but it’s hit me out of the blue.”
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Joining the club from St Helens in 2020, he coached them to 82 games. They currently sit equal eighth with the Eels in the finals race with a 6-7 record.
In his first season as a coach, he helped lead the club to ninth place after earning the wooden spoon a year earlier. He then led them to the finals the following year and was only one win away from making the semi-finals. However, last year the club dropped off, missing the finals.
The sacking was so sudden that Holbrook and his management had no idea it would happen when he walked into a 9:00am meeting with CEO Steve Mitchell this morning.
“I had no inkling at all,” he said.
“Steve just called me in this morning and said, ‘Have you got a minute’.
“I went in for a meeting and he said, ‘We are going to terminate you as of right now’.
“I said, ‘Shivers, on what … performance?’ I said, ‘Mate, I thought you would have given me a chance of getting the guys to the finals with our best players back’.
“Anyway, it was a waste of time talking. It wasn’t a negotiation. They had made up their mind.”
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – OCTOBER 20: Head Coach Mal Meninga of Australia looks on after the International Test match between Tonga and Australia at Mount Smart Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
After the decision was finalised, Titans senior advisor Mal Meninga does not “envisage being part of the club moving forward” and had no inkling of his sacking.
“I didn’t know till today, obviously a little disappointing being a senior advisor there,” Meninga told SEN.
“I don’t know how I feel about it.
“The club made a decision based on some of the measurements they employed over the off-season which is around their defence – the board saw there’s no improvements around that area of the game and made a decision out of duty of care to the club.
“Justin’s a great person and a great coach – I’m a little disappointed for him, because it can damage reputations, decisions like this, and I hope it doesn’t damage Justin’s reputation.”
Source:: ZeroTackle
