“He hasn’t had a call from the club,but there’s certainly been a lot of talk in the media about who he’s calling and his intent and where he wants to go,so there’s a lot of noise.
“He hasn’t called me. He hasn’t called anyone at my club.
Ben Hunt in action for the Maroons.Credit:Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
“We’re at a point in time whereby we need to make the change.
“Arguably we’re not improving – we’re actually sliding – and it’s the back end of a long process of review and just checking and watching how we’ve progressed.
“I feel responsibility in the fact we’ve got an obligation to create a football environment whereby these athletes – and we’ve got a wonderful roster – have the opportunity to become the best players in their own right and literally achieve what we can achieve.
“We feel at this point we haven’t created that environment and we think Des will bring that.”
Gold Coast senior adviser and rugby league Immortal Mal Meninga told SEN he was unaware of the decision to part ways with Holbrook,but Mitchell still believed the Kangaroos coach had a role to play at the Titans.
He said star five-eighth Kieran Foran – who won two premierships under Hasler – had no involvement in the decision-making process.
Des Hasler has guided the Manly Sea Eagles to two premierships.Credit:Getty
The Titans sit ninth on the NRL ladder with six wins and seven losses,only behind the Parramatta Eels on points differential.
They have made the finals just once under Holbrook – a 2021 elimination finals exit before slumping to 13th last year.
Mitchell denied the late season turnover meant this campaign would be a write-off for the club.
He said Holbrook’s popularity with the group would upset the players,but they would rebound.
“There’s a real opportunity before us,” Mitchell said.
“We’ve got a great roster in front of us,we’ve got a great run into the finals,we’re sitting OK on the ladder.
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“I think they’ll miss Justin,I think he’s a friend and I think he’s got strong relationships there.
“But we’re about performance and we’re about delivering to an audience and a community that has expectations of us.
“We want our group and we owe our fanbase and sponsors the opportunity to really get behind us as we head into finals this year. So no,we have to make this second half of the season work.”