Tino Faโasuamaleaui has been unveiled as the next Gold Coast Titansโ captain in a shock move.
Rated as one of the best young forwards in the game in the lead-up to his NRL debut, Faโasuamaleaui impressed during his first season with the Titans in 2021.
He made his debut in 2019 with the Storm, playing five games, before becoming a mainstay of Craig Bellamyโs side in the Victorian capital, making 22 appearances during 2020.
He then moved to the Titans in 2021, adding 22 appearances to take his career tally to 49 matches to go with another three State of Origin matches, taking his career tally in the representative arena to six.
Despite his limited experience and only being 21 years of age, the middle forward has taken over from Kevin Proctor as the Titansโ captain in 2022, according to a Nine News report.
Faโasuamaleaui would seem a left-field choice for Holbrook, however, he averaged big minutes in 2021 and was comfortably one of the Titansโ best players in a team who scrapped into the bottom of the top eight.
Intriguingly, the 21-year-old played in the same under-18s State of Origin team as David Fifita in 2018, with Fifita being named captain of that team under the coaching of Kurt Richards.
Holbrook has decided to dump the co-captains model he employed in 2021 when Jamal Fogarty and Kevin Proctor were joint leaders on-field, instead calling Fa'asuamaleaui a "natural leader."
โTino is a natural leader and he has been that with us since he first arrived at the Club,โ Holbrook said.
โHe sets such high standards and I love that about Tino.
โHe is someone who leads with his actions, he demands a lot of himself and others and they are great qualities in a captain.
โTino is part of an exciting new wave of Titans that are invested in bringing success here to the Coast.
โHeโs a player that has great respect from his peers, including our senior players like Kevin Proctor, Isaac Liu and Corey Thompson.โ
Proctor recently opened up on captaincy, telling the media that it wasnโt going to make a difference to him whether he was captain or not.
โTo be honest, โCโ next to my name or not, itโs not going to change what I do,โ he said.
โItโs obviously a massive privilege but it doesnโt change what I do on and off the field anyway. Itโs just a title to me.
โWhatever way the club goes Iโm sure theyโre doing it in the best interests of the club. Iโm easy (with that).โ
Faโasuamaleauiโs first game as captain will also coincidentally be his 50th NRL appearance when the Titans open their 2022 account against the Parramatta Eels on Sunday, March 13 in Sydney.
