Titans coach Garth Brennan has "no concerns whatsoever" that Tyrone Peachey may be about to back out of the three-year deal announced in March.
Asked about Channel 7 reporting Peachey had cold feet and was considering remaining at Penrith next year, Brennan referred to the report as "speculation", adding "I would be very surprised if anything changes".
However, he did not provide an iron-clad guarantee Peachey would not, or would not be allowed, to walk away from the deal.
His manager Sam Ayoub told NewsCorp that Peachey and his wife were having second thoughts about relocating due to the Gold Coast due to the impending birth of their second child but added he was reasonably confident the NSW Origin utility would link with the Titans.
The versatile 27-year-old, who smirked "I’m off to the Goldie" nonchalantly last week when interviewed about the departure of Penrith coach Anthony Griffin, has been released from the last year of his contract with the Panthers as they could not offer him a handsome deal because of salary cap constraints.
Brennan, the former Panthers assistant coach, snapped up Peachey – making him the fourth Panther he has attracted to the Titans. Bryce Cartwright and Leilani Latu have not lived up to their lucrative deals yet budget buy Mitch Rein has resurrected his NRL career with some superb performances.
It would be embarrassing for the Titans if Peachey were to snub the club after agreeing to terms after Manly star Daly Cherry-Evans-s infamously did likewise in 2015.
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"We haven't heard from Tyrone or his management that he doesn't want to come to the club," Brennan stated.
"That rumor was floating around at Origin time as well and I saw Peach come out in the media and put it to bed back then. I think it is all just speculation.
"I rang [Peachey's manager] Sam [Ayoub] and spoke to Tyrone, this was months ago, and they both reassured me he was looking forward to it.
Brennan:We haven't heard from Peachey
"He was contracted to Penrith for next year, they let him go because of their salary cap and they just couldn't afford him going forward.
"Anthony Griffin leaving doesn’t affect their salary cap. As far as we are concerned I can’t see any changes and I look forward to him being up here next year.
"In the perfect world he would have liked to have stayed at Penrith but unfortunately it’s a business and it wouldn’t allow him to stay at Penrith. He was aware of that, he understood that and I think he is excited and looking forward to getting up here to the Gold Coast."
Asked if he had any concerns, considering the history of DCE’s actions three years ago, Brennan replied: "No concerns whatsoever.
"And the end of the day the clause that allowed Cherry Evans to get out of the contract has been changed.
"Tyrone has been signed for six months and one thing I will say about Tyrone Peachey is that he is a good man, he’s an honourable man, he’s committed to us and I would be very surprised if anything changes."
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Titans skipper Ryan James has roomed with Peachey during Indigenous All Stars camps and had dialogue with him during this year’s NSW Origin series about Peachey’s impending move.
"In Blues camp we were talking about how he was looking for a house and he was talking about where he would buy. I would be surprised [if he backed out]," James said.
Brennan said the Titans would be unchanged for Saturday’s clash with Melbourne at Cbus Super Stadium, with Will Matthews taking his place on the bench and Bryce Cartwright dropping back to the Intrust Super Cup for Tweed Heads.
