The Gold Coast Titans have confirmed that their partnership with the Tweed Heads Seagulls will continue until at least the end of the 2025 season.
The new agreement will strengthen the link between the two clubs, ecompassing both the men's and women's elite pathways.
Under the deal, the Titans will continue to send players to the Seagulls to play in reserve grade football, with the Titans recently losing the Burleigh Bears as their other QLD Cup affiliate to the Brisbane Broncos.
That came after the Broncos lost the Norths Devils to the Dolphins as the NRL's newest club aims to continue locking down the north side of Brisbane for themselves.
The movement of QLD Cup clubs among their NRL counterparts is continuing to be set against a backdrop of talk around a national reserve grade competition, which is being pushed back on from both the NSWRL and QRL.
The QRL's Ben Ikin spoke to all clubs about expanding funding for grassroots competitions through the NSWRL and QRL this week.
Titans CEO Steve Mitchell said that the ongoing and extended partnership with the Seagulls would help the Titans continue to support and develop talent in the Northern Rivers region.
โTweed Seagulls are an organisation with similar values to us, in that they believe in supporting local talent and giving those kids who grow up playing footy here on the Coast a place to play in their home region,โ Mitchell said in a statement.
โFor the first time, our affiliation with Tweed will include both men's and women's programs, speaking to the growth of the women's game here on the Coast.
โAlong with Seagulls, we will partner on an additional development officer for the region to ensure there is an increase in both coach education and player development in the region.
โSeagulls are a club with a rich history and a club that have always focussed on making sure that athletes in our region have the best chance to succeed.
โWe're thrilled to not only continue with Seagulls as an affiliate club, but to extend that affiliation out for another two seasons.โ
Tweed Heads CEO Brendon Lindsay said the partnership would continue to allow players in the region a better opportunity at playing NRL level football through the Titans.
โPartnering with the Gold Coast Titans makes sense to us and our community,โ Lindsay said.
โOne of our responsibilities is to connect community rugby league to the NRL and this new agreement will support our club in building strong male and female pathways for players and staff of the Northern Rivers and Gold Coast communities that lead directly to the Titans.
โWe are also excited to be partnering with the Titans in an additional development resource that will support both of our clubs throughout our catchment areas.
โThis investment further emphasises both organisations commitment to community rugby league.
โWe look forward to continuing to build a strong relationship with the Titans that achieves both organisations' goals.โ
It's unclear if the Titans will have a second QLD Cup affiliate next season at this stage, following talk the Titans and Cowboys had both been looking at entering teams under their own name into the competition next season.
