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Twitter up in arms as Titans choose Hayne over Henry

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NRL Twitter recap

THEY say the best thing one can do to establish authority in a work environment is take the top dog down a notch.

That tactic has not worked as planned for Gold Coast Titans coach Neil Henry.

The club announced his immediate departure on Monday afternoon, thus ending the rumoured power struggled between the gaffer and Jarryd Hayne.

Titans chief executive Graham Annesley expressed regret over what had become a “polarising issue” within the organisation.

“It was a particularly difficult conversation to have, everyone feels… for Neil and his family,” he told reporters.

“The timing was not of the board’s desire. Unfortunately the timing was taken out of the board’s hands with the events that took place.

“By and large the board were driven by one agenda and one agenda only: to make a decision in the best interests of the club… in 2018 and beyond.

“We wish Neil nothing but the best for the future, and made it very velar to Neil that he’ll be welcome around this club.

“Everyone is hurting a little bit today.”

The 2017 campaign proved to be the toughest of Henry’s four-year stint at Robina.

The Titans were an outside chance at finals midway through the year, but performances deteriorated from mediocre to amateurish over the last six weeks of his reign.

That slide has coincided with significant improvement from Wests Tigers and the Newcastle Knights, leaving the Gold Coast only two games off the bottom of the NRL ladder.

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It follows an alarming trend for all codes of football in the region.

The sacking of Henry comes hot on the heels of Rodney Eade’s axing by the Gold Coast Suns – contenders for the wooden spoon in the AFL this season.

And the less said about Clive Palmer’s long-defunct A-League project, the better.

Things are not much better over at head office.

NRL match attendances continue to make headlines for all the wrong reason, with many supporters singling out the schedule as the main reason for poor turnouts.

Attempts to lure punters to Thursday night footy have backfired spectacularly, resulting in crowds of less than 10,000 for fixtures that would normally draw twice that.

Now it has emerged that broadcasters have been fudging the reels, using old footage to create the illusion of more bodies in the grandstands.

In other NRL news, James McManus has had a massive breakthrough in his court case against Newcastle.

The former Knights man is suing his old club on the grounds that repeat concussions have left him with permanent brain damage.

To that end, his legal team has demanded access to medical records pertaining to other NRL footballers who have suffered head injuries.

The New South Wales supreme court granted that requested on Monday, meaning the club will have to hand over detailed reports relating to former players Richard Fa’aoso and Robbie Rochow.

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