The NRL market has been in full swing for 2023 with several stars switching clubs ahead of the new season.
NRL.com takes a look at the major transfers and how your club will benefit from a star arrival.
Kieran Foran (Titans)
- Age: 32
- Position they’ll fill: Five-eighth
- Contracted until: 2024
What Foran will bring
One of the more notable player movements for the 2023 season, Kieran Foran’s arrival on the Gold Coast comes with plenty of expectation placed upon his shoulders.
A lack of experience in the squad, especially in the halves, saw the Titans struggle in 2022 as they succumbed to an inability to address momentum shifts in their games. Having debuted in the NRL in 2009 with the Manly Sea Eagles, the 2011 premiership winner has plenty of on-field experience to share.
Foran, who also had stints with the Eels, Warriors and Bulldogs, comes to the club after earning a recall to the New Zealand national side, where he featured in five games at the World Cup.
Known for putting his body on the line whenever he plays, it seems he has put his struggles with injuries behind him, finding a new lease on life at the Sea Eagles during the past two seasons, playing 24 games in 2021 and 25 in 2022.
Set to be the oldest playmaker to don the Titans colours since Mat Rogers, even if Foran is not playing every match for the Titans in 2023, his presence and his knowledge can only have a positive effect on the players around him.
Gold Coast captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui has said he is already learning from Foran’s example and wants to push himself even further this season.
'They're really eager and that excites me': Foran
Why it will work
There is no shying away from the struggles the Titans endured in 2022, suffering a slide down the ladder to narrowly avoid the wooden spoon after earning a place in the finals in season 2021. Some astute signings – especially of Foran and hooker Sam Verrills – look to be a step in the right direction to address that slide.
The Titans are a young squad overall and while Fa’asuamaleaui is an inspirational leader whose effort and commitment cannot be questioned, there’s nothing quite like experience to draw from, which Foran will provide in spades as a senior voice in the squad.
Expected to start the season at five-eighth, he can also help provide direction for the team on the park and will allow whomever partners him in the halves at 6 or 7 - be it Tanah Boyd, Toby Sexton, AJ Brimson or another of the Gold Coast’s emerging young talents - to feel their way into the game with less pressure on them to make every key decision.