Was 2024 a “disaster” season for the Titans?

With the 2024 regular season coming to a close, the Gold Coast will be one of the most disappointed franchises in the NRL after a rollercoaster year where they will finish well outside of finals contention.

Coming into this year, there was plenty of high expectations for the Titans with experienced coach Des Hasler taking over.

However, a string of injuries to a few of the Titans stars derailed the season before they could get going, leaving Hasler’s side out of the hunt for finals from the very early stages.

Gold Coast managed to salvage its season with some impressive performances in the backend of the year but it was to little too late for the youthful side.

With all the factors in play, SEN NRL expert Denan Kemp revealed his belief that the 2024 season was a disaster for the Titans, considering the preseason expectations.

“I’ve got a lot of pushback from people and respectfully I’m probably in the minority here,” Kemp said on SEN 1170 The Captain’s Run.

“I personally think the Titans season has been a disaster.

“It may be because I have such high standards for this side and they were my dark horse (before the season started) so it’s me just having too high expectations.

“I know they lost Tino, I totally get that but I just felt Dessie would be able to put together a better season than what has been put together.

“I don’t necessarily mean that had to make finals but I would’ve at the very least in the group of teams that were going to be fighting for the eight at the end of the year.

“I just think their last month of footy where they’ve basically been absolutely towelled up is a really disappointing way to end the season… a lot of people are saying to me I’m being too harsh.”

Kemp’s co-hot, NRL legend Cameron Smith agreed with his sentiment and stated off the back of last year’s showing the Titans should’ve taken the momentum into 2024.

“I agree, I think they’re a better football side than what they’ve shown us this year, there’s no doubt about that,” Smith added.

“I’m not sure if there’s been some big changes in terms of their preparation or their training, or football with a new coaching staff and it’s taken them a little bit of time for them to adjust.

“I think we seen some good signs here and there from but they’ve really underperformed considering where they were last year.”

The Titans can finish their season with a ninth win when they travel to Penrith to take on the Panthers on Saturday night.