Gold Coast Titans star second-rower David Fifita has revealed he was never going anywhere after re-signing with the Gold Coast Titans.
The Titans recently announced that both Fifita and captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui had re-signed with the club on mega deals after their contracts became up for sale following the sacking of Justin Holbrook.
Fifita moved to lock in his former deal to the end of 2026 on a slightly upgraded $1 million per year after a 2023 where his form saw him return to the Queensland Maroons' State of Origin side under coach Billy Slater, while Fa'asuamaleaui locked up the richest contract in rugby league history, worth $12 million over the next decade.
Fifita, who had reportedly seen interest from the Canberra Raiders among other clubs, told 9 News this week that he was never going anywhere, and any speculation that suggested he was going to was simply "outside noise."
"Let's be real, I wasn't really going anywhere... it was just outside noise at the end of the day," Fifita told 9 News.
"Obviously I did have that stuff there with my contract, but my team behind the scenes did a really good job to get it sorted and I just worried about playing football.
"I just want to enjoy myself here at the Titans and I'm doing that... my family's enjoying it, and I'm enjoying it and even before all the talk, I felt comfortable.
"You could see the way that in the way I've been playing and the way that I've been around the boys. I'm just happy to be here and I'm just looking forward to these next few weeks to finish strong."
It comes with Fifita and Fa'asuamaleaui both meeting with incoming coach Des Hasler in the lead-up to signing their new deals.
Hasler has signed on to take over the post vacated by Justin Holbrook next year, with the Titans looking to set themselves up for long-term success.
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Fifita revealed he has already met with Hasler a number of times, and is looking forward to working with the veteran coach, who is a two-time premiership-winner.
"I've caught up with Des a couple of times now to have a few yarns and a few cups of coffee with him... he loves his coffees [and chats]," Fifita said.
"He's a tremendous bloke and really into his rugby league with the way he speaks. He didn't go into too much detail [about this year] because he doesn't want to interact yet while the current season is still going, but I'm looking forward to working with him.
"He's really hard on his players and that's something all of us need as a group and I think Des will give us that hard defensive mindset.
"He's really brutal with defence and I'm really keen to work with him."
Hasler arrives at the Titans in November, looking to take the team to the finals for just the fourth time in their history, with the last of those coming under Neil Henry in 2016.