Titans to sever ties with Hasler as replacement revealed
The Titans have confirmed they will sever ties with Des Hasler at the end of the season after a poor two years at the helm – as they announce a rookie NRL head coach as his replacement.
Des Hasler will leave Gold Coast at the end of the NRL season after an ill-fated two years as head coach and will be replaced by highly regarded Cronulla assistant Josh Hannay.
Hasler will preside over the last two games of the year, against the Dolphins and Wests Tigers, but the 64-year-old is no guarantee to coach in the NRL again after that.
The Titans have not formally announced Hasler’s successor for 2026, but AAP has been told Hannay will be given the nod for a first full-time NRL coaching position.
Hannay has built an impressive resume as an assistant and was linked to recent head coaching vacancies at Parramatta and Brisbane, before losing out to Jason Ryles and Michael Maguire, respectively.
He led the Sharks to within an inch of the final as interim coach in 2021, and has worked as right-hand man to Billy Slater at the Queensland State of Origin team for the past four series.
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Slater has credited Hannay’s strategic insights and man management as pivotal to the Maroons’ recent successes.
Hannay was also interim coach of North Queensland for 10 games in 2020 before the club appointed Todd Payten, and has head coaching experience with Queensland Cup side Souths Logan.
He holds a contract at Cronulla for 2026, but Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has previously said the club would not stand in his way should he ask to leave for a head coaching job.
Hannay would have a big task to inspire sustained success at the Titans, who have not won a finals game since 2010 and have made the top eight only twice since then.
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He is understood to be eager for the challenge.
The Titans fired Justin Holbrook midway through the 2023 season to clear the way for Hasler, who has won two premierships from five grand final appearances.
But the Titans have won only 13 of Hasler’s 46 games in charge for a winning rate of 28 per cent, and are the favourites to finish last on the ladder with a fortnight to play in the regular season.
It would mark a first NRL wooden spoon for Hasler, who has had a winning record in only one of his past five seasons.
This season Hasler became the sixth coach to reach 500 NRL games, and the club had released a media statement publicly backing him to remain coach in 2026 as recently as June.
But the situation appeared untenable, the Titans finishing 11 of the past 13 rounds on the bottom of the ladder.
Titans chairman Dennis Watt thanked Hasler for his contributions to the club.
“His deep knowledge, passion and unwavering commitment to excellence have been evident every day he has worked with our club,” Watt said in a statement.
“While this season hasn’t gone as planned, Des has conducted himself with the dignity and class that has defined his entire career.”
-with AAP
