Matty Johns and wife Trish have reportedly bought into the Gold Coast Titans.
As first reported by Code Sports, the Newcastle Knights icon has purchased a minority stake in the club after Titans supremo Rebecca Frizelle had taken full ownership of the club earlier this year.
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According to the report, Frizelle and Johns have been in secret negotiations in recent weeks discussing the club’s ownership.
The Fox League star is buying into a club that has been unable to pull itself out of a slump in recent seasons.
The Titans dumped former coach Des Hasler in August.
It has been a rollercoaster ride for new coach Josh Hannay with the former Cronulla assistant coach taking control as the club goes through a roster shake up.
He has been given a three-year deal, but it comes with reported rumours of a contract clause that would allow the Titans to poach Craig Bellamy in future years.
Hannay last week explained his support for the club’s roster overhaul, headlined by the departure of David Fifita.
Reagan Campbell-Gillard (London), Carter Gordon (Wallabies) and Alofiana Khan-Pereira (Warriors) have also been released recently.
Hasler’s assistants, Jim Lenihan, Brett White and Michael Monaghan have also been let go, with three new mentors taking their place.
Former Titans assistant Steve Murphy returns, while the Knights’ Brian McDermott and former player Brad Davis have been employed under Hannay.
The Titans finished 16th this season and 14th in 2024. The club has not played finals football since 2021, where they finished eighth and were knocked out in Week 1.
Rumours of drama behind the scenes on the Gold Coast have swirled this season since it emerged Hasler was a dead man walking with the second worst winning record of any full-time Titans coach except for Garth Brennan.
Leading rugby league journalist Andrew Webster said in July the club could possibly explore relocation.
“This lines up with the mail that I’ve got too. I’ve been hearing this for a while that the Frizelle’s have been keen to get control of the club in its entirety and to also just blow the whole thing up and start again,” Webster said on the Off The Record podcast
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they changed the jumper. I wouldn’t be surprised if they made serious changes across the whole organisation.”
The Australian’s Webster went on to say: “The Gold Coast has been the Bermuda Triangle in rugby league forever and it’s time for it to work or not. And if it doesn’t, then I reckon they need to relocate it to the west of Brisbane.”
According to Code Sports, Matty and Trish view the Titans as a long term investment.
According to the report, Johns has been given the all-clear from Fox Sports to pursue his new project.
Originally published as Matthew Johns, wife buy into Queensland NRL club