Titans skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui says rising star Zane Harrison is the “future” of the club and has urged him to stay amid reports he will hit the open market where he could attract huge offers from rival teams.
Harrison is only 20 and has played just 11 NRL games, but he’s shown glimpses that he will be a long-term halfback who can bring success to whichever team he plays for.
The Titans desperately want him to stay and play in an exciting young spine that includes Jayden Campbell (signed until 2031), Keano Kini (2030) and Oliver Pascoe, who shone at dummy-half in his rookie season.
There has been speculation that Harrison is demanding $900,000 a season, although his manager recently insisted that wasn’t the case, with the PNG Chiefs one of the clubs reportedly keen on his services.
“He is the future,” Fa’asuamaleaui told the NewsWire.
“We have to keep this core group together because a lot of these boys are coming through the ranks of the Titans, and that is something that we want to thrive on.”
Harrison won four of his 11 games and was outstanding in their upset victory over Penrith before a hamstring injury abruptly ended his season.
The Titans only won two games without him and ended up matching their win total from 2025, but it’s clear that things improved for the team under new coach Josh Hannay once you looked past the superficial numbers.
They fixed up their defence after a rough start to the season and took it to several powerhouse clubs, only to lose their final six games that coincided with Harrison’s injury.
“I think people probably see glimpses of it throughout our footy, but it is the culture that we are building,” Fa’asuamaleaui said.
“We are starting to establish that, and to get anywhere in this rugby league life, team or club, you have to start with a good culture. I think Josh Hannay, the coaching staff, the owners, and everyone on board have really bought into that.
“As much as the win column doesn’t really show it, there have been a lot of green shoots and a lot of improvement in that area. That is something that I love about the club and want to keep working hard towards.
“I think as a team, people have to be patient, and we have to continue to buy in. Even the outside people need to be patient with what we are building here because if we stick together and continue to back what we have, we will see the flowers of it later on.
“As much as the year had a lot of ups and downs, there was a lot of good. In past seasons, we probably only produced a handful of good or competitive games, whereas this year we had way more improvement with most games being competitive.”
Originally published as ‘He is the future’: Titans desperate for Zane Harrison to stay put as manager quashes wild contract rumour