Gold Coast Titans captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui has heaped praise on interim coach Jim Lenihan at the end of a difficult season for the club.
The Titans, who beat the Bulldogs in the final round of the season on Sunday in a game which Lenihan described as "ugly" where both teams appeared to be simply searching for the finish line, will welcome Hasler to the club in 2024.
It was confirmed in recent weeks that Lenihan will remain part of the club as part of Hasler's staff, and captain Fa'asuamaleai lumped praise on the interim coach who took over from Justin Holbrook mid-season.
“Yeah, it's so good,” Fa'asuamaleaui said during the post-game press conference.
“We just spoke about it in there with everyone. Jim has played a big part in this year and it has been very tough on and off the field.
“I give him credit and I'm so glad he is staying. He has obviously been through a lot of the tough times with us and I just can't wait to get the good times where we can start winning and celebrate more.”
Hasler's arrival could be a game changer on the Gold Coast for a franchise who have seen little in the way of success since they joined the NRL.
Importantly, the Titans have a stable roster moving forward, with a large chunk of the core group signed to the club long-term.
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Lenihan said he has been impressed with the mindset change in his team during the second half of the season, but suggested Hasler will be able to sharpen the team even more as they prepare for an assault on the finals in 2024.
“I hope we have just started the ball rolling on shifting our mindset on what it takes for us to be a better football team. I think we put ourselves into better positions at the back end of the year, but we just didn't get the results at times,” Lenihan said.
“We really fell away with players out at the back end of the year. I think we had 13 or 14 out of our team who are unavailable at the moment. To finish with a lot of young kids playing footy, still win a couple of games and still put ourselves in a position against Melbourne or Penrith to be in a position where we are contesting a game with 15 or 20 to go is really positive.
“There is no doubt we have a lot of work to do moving forward and I have no doubt Des will sharpen the pencil for us in the pre-season coming up.”
Hasler will arrive on the Gold Coast in November.