Titans fullback David Mead has revealed that he "wouldn't say no" to a new contract offer that would see him extend his stay on the Gold Coast into a ninth NRL season but is yet to begin negotiations with the club.
Currently impressing in his preferred position of fullback with William Zillman on the sidelines, Mead could be the victim of the salary cap shuffling that the Titans are currently managing and may have to reject more lucrative offers in order to stay a Titan.
Zillman and Josh Hoffman are both signed to the club through until the end of the 2017 season but in the Titans' favour is the recent re-signing of halfback Kane Elgey and the influx of sponsors to have joined the club in the past 12 months.
Mead and the Titans are yet to sit down and discuss his future but the Country Origin representative told NRL.com that the commitment of Elgey for the next two seasons could have a large bearing on whether he decides to stay or look elsewhere.
"The club's definitely moving in a positive direction," Mead said.
"I haven't really thought about what I'm going to do just yet but if the club did come up to me and make an offer I'd definitely think about it and wouldn't say no.
"Elgey signing certainly does help because he's got a bright future and is a superstar in the making so having him, Ash[Taylor] and Tyrone [Roberts] here certainly is a huge factor in making my decision."
When he turns out against the Raiders on Saturday 27-year-old Mead will move past Zillman to become the third-most capped Titan in the club's history, making his 133rd top grade appearance having also been a member of the Titans' inaugural under-20s team in 2008.
Keeping local juniors such as Elgey has been an issue for the franchise since its inception in 2007 and Mead believes it is another sign that the club has a bright future to look forward to.
"It sends a good message to the general rugby league community on the Gold Coast and other areas around here," said Mead, who can move past Luke Bailey into second position for games played if he plays at least 22 games this season.
"That's what people want to see, a guy like Elgey signing with the club and playing his next couple of years here.
"That was something he was pretty happy about as well. It was something that he always wanted to do so I'm very happy for him."
Bilambil junior Ryan James plays his 72nd game for the Titans on Saturday and also believes Elgey's signature sends the right message to the Gold Coast community.
"I'm extremely happy that Kane re-signed with us because I was lucky enough to play with him in his debut and I played a lot of footy with him last year," James told NRL.com
"I know what he can do and if we can help build the club around someone like Kane it's going to be extremely positive because he's a Gold Coast boy.
"Him being local, it shows to local kids that they can do it, that they can play for the Gold Coast. We want to create a team and a culture that they want to come into.
"Back when I came into it I really wanted to play for the Titans and then it got lost a little bit there in the middle and we're really creating something at the moment."
