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THE Titans have reached the crossroads as a football club.
One week they can be woeful, as they showed against the Wests Tigers. The next they can be brave and win games on character, as evidenced in their impressive road triumph in Canberra last week.
But the time has come for the Gold Coast to find the consistency that defines top-four and premiership-winning teams. And the clock is ticking, because if they miss the finals this year for a fourth consecutive season, the reality is John Cartwright, their foundation coach, will be in the firing line.
The Titans' derby clash with North Queensland on Monday night will tell us a bit about the ethos of both clubs.
A loss will not be cause for hitting panic buttons. After all, titles aren't won in March. But games like these can fortify a squad's constitution, shape a team's season, and provide a barometer of whether a club is heading in the right direction under a particular coach.
Greg Bird runs the ball in a clash against the Raiders. Source: Getty Images
I don't envy the position in which Cartwright finds himself. He took the Titans to a grand final qualifier in 2010, so clearly he has structures and systems that have proven successful. But it has been a hard road since. A wooden spoon. Three consecutive finals bomb-outs. This is not the standard a competitor like Cartwright would want to set. And while I don't know John in a coaching sense, I know he is pragmatic enough to accept that if the Coast go four years without making the finals, there will be push for change.
Given the Titans' recent struggles, it will only take back-to-back losses for the blowtorch to be on Cartwright again. That's a real juggling act for a coach, who in turn faces the challenge of coping with personal pressures.
But it would be harsh to finger Cartwright as the singular problem. The playing group must take ownership of the squad's erratic displays and understand the implications of repeatedly missing the finals. If you continually fail to appear in the playoffs, you run the risk of mediocrity infiltrating the club culture.
Winning can be cyclical, but it is also cultural.
At present, in the real clutch moments, I'm not sure if Titans players, as a group, have the confidence to truly believe they can close out a game.
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That's why beating the Sharks away in round one was a promising sign. And why beating the Cowboys in front of their home fans would be a huge shot of confidence for the younger players in their squad.
For the Titans to build self-belief and confidence, a lot hinges on their "spine". We have seen the brilliance of Albert Kelly but the key for him is to do it on a weekly basis. At five-eighth, Aidan Sezer impresses me but he's still learning the craft, and that education process is steeper for Aidan because his halfback partner, Kelly, is also young.
I think the subtle rule changes benefit Beau Falloon at hooker, but the trio have all had their share of injuries.
Without continuity in their spine, it's no surprise the Coast have suffered form fluctuations. Much is made of the Titans' forward pack and rightly so, because you won't find more competitive men than Nate Myles, Luke Bailey, Greg Bird and Ashley Harrison. The old adage is your backs can only work off a forward platform, but playmakers can also dictate the effectiveness of their pack.
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Myles and Bailey are guys who can hold their nerve, but they can't take control of games. Playmakers do that, and that's where the Titans' question mark rests.
Cartwright's X-factor could well be his new assistant Neil Henry, who faces his former club this week. I worked alongside Neil in Queensland's State of Origin set-up and his football brain is as sharp as I've seen. The Maroons thrived on the Mal Meninga-Henry alliance. The players spilled blood for Mal, and they improved through Neil's tactical edge.
Hopefully "King" Henry can do the same for the Titans — and John Cartwright.
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