The majority owner of the Gold Coast Titans has confronted league great Corey Parker live on radio about his accusations that the club had blindsided new coach Josh Hannay.
Hannay is set to take charge of his first season at the Titans in 2026, but reportedly has a clause in his three-year deal that could see him lose the top job just 12 months later.
However, that clause would only be activated in the event that the Titans were able to get Storm coach Craig Bellamy to make the move up north and join the club. Hannay would then be demoted to assistant coach.
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The clause was heavily criticised by Parker after the first reports emerged last month, with the Broncos great declaring Hannay had been “somewhat blindsided”.
“Hannay, whilst holidaying overseas, has made it known that he didn’t have any idea that there was a contract with a clause in it,” Parker said.
Josh Hannay (R) works as an assistant coach to Queensland head coach Billy Slater. Getty
“At this stage, we’re led to believe that Josh Hannay had no idea about the alleged signing of Craig Bellamy, and we haven’t heard anything from the Titans.”
Those comments did not go unnoticed by Titans officials, who late last month reiterated their commitment and belief in Hannay as the leader of their team.
In the same statement, the club made “no apologies for pursuing the best” – a reference to their desired acquisition of Bellamy.
Titans chairman Dennis Watt added that much of the reporting on the matter was “inaccurate” and confirmed no comments would be made on the contents of the deal.
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Corey Parker, former Broncos player. Getty
Now, club owner Rebecca Frizelle has taken time to clear the air and confronted Parker for his comments about the matter when she appeared on his SEN radio show on Tuesday.
“Corey, I’d like to clear this up now because it did bother me that you would think that we would be dishonest or not transparent with our incoming coach regarding Craig Bellamy and Josh Hannay,” she said.
“I want to say on the record, we would never operate that way. We are straight shooters and we will always be transparent. We would never treat anyone poorly like that.
“I hope that clears it up for the public, there was nothing we did that neither Josh or Craig Bellamy were not across.”
Parker thanked Frizelle for providing “great clarity” about the situation before admitting that he was previously implying that he “hoped [the saga] would be handled differently” with the Gold Coast Titans headquarters.
“For such a period of time, there was a bit of uncertainty, not from your end,” he replied.
“But I did say from our end, within those four walls, you would hope it would be handled differently and you have absolutely cleared that up without a doubt.”
Tino Faasuamaleaui celebrates with David Fifita after the Titans defeated the Sydney Roosters. Getty
Aside from the club’s coaching saga, Frizelle also discussed rival interest in captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, who is set to be one of the most in-demand players on the market.
Fa’asuamaleaui is contracted with the Titans until the end of 2029, but his deal includes a clause that allows him to test the open market this season.
The likes of the Melbourne Storm and the Perth Bears have been linked as landing spots for the star forward, although Frizelle is “not too worried” about the external interest.
“I wish them all the success,” Frizelle said in response to Perth’s interest specifically.
“I think they’ve got a big challenge ahead. I think them coming in is great for the game, but in terms of us, it’s a big ask to ask people to move across to Perth.
“The time difference, the travel … it’s gonna be a challenge. I’m pretty confident with our playing group and where they sit. I’m not overly worried about the Perth Bears.
“If we do lose people to them, well, I wish them luck.”