Gold Coast Titans: Isaako reveals he snubbed NRL rivals for Titans
Jamayne Isaako has revealed he had no option but to leave the Brisbane Broncos and says he also turned down an NRL rival to sign for the Gold Coast Titans.
Isaako has agreed a deal to join the Dolphins for their inaugural NRL campaign in 2023. But he was hoping to see out the rest of the year with the Broncos and go out on a high.
However it soon became clear that would not be the case following talks with coach Kevin Walters. Isaako got the impression that Walters would start planning for life without him and minutes on the pitch would be limited.
It is not the first time this has happened. In 2021 Xavier Coates was frozen out somewhat after agreeing a deal with the Melbourne Storm. Walters insisted that the move to Melbourne had nothing to do with it. However it was still hard to fathom how Coates could not to get in to a struggling Broncos side.
No Broncos future
In pre-season Isaako had talks with Walters and did not like what he heard.
“The conversations we had I didn’t get the confidence I was going to play unless there was an injury or something like that,” Isaako told reporters. “I thought I worked extremely hard over the pre-season to earn a spot in the team and, look, it was not meant to be in the eyes of the coaching staff there.”
The 25-year-old took the news on the chin and is now looking forward to his time with the Titans. He will see the season out with Justin Holbrook’s side before linking up with the Dolphins for 2023.
Gold Coast Titans switch
The Titans were not the only interested party though. The Parramatta Eels were also keen to get him on board for the rest of the season. Such a move would have been tempting as the Eels will be chasing the premiership.
Even so Isaako has revealed a move to Sydney was never going to happen. Uprooting his family did not appeal and a switch from the Broncos to the Titans to the Dolphins will be much smoother.
There will be exciting times ahead with Wayne Bennett at the Dolphins. But for now it is all about the Titans and Isaako cannot wait to get started.
“The opportunity has come up here now and I am just looking forward to ripping in and learning off Justin and the boys here,” Isaako added.
The Titans are back in action when they face the Canberra Raiders on Saturday.