On the eve of the 2023 NRLW pre-season beginning, Karyn Murphy has called on the Gold Coast to get behind their team and make Cbus Super Stadium a place other teams will fear.
With four of their nine regular season games being played at home after previously only getting one match per season in 2022, the expanded number of times the team will run out at Robina is why the Titans coach wants the Legion to fill the stands in numbers to show their support and make the venue a fortress in this year’s women’s season.
“I’m really excited to have that many home games where we can really make Cbus a place that clubs don’t want to come and play against us here,” she said.
“Also for the girls, they don’t have a lot of opportunity to play in front of friends and family so for that reason and also the local support here on the Gold Coast, it’ll be really exciting to play in front of everyone.
“It’s particularly really good for us coming from last season where it was only a short competition but we only had that one game against the Knights here on the Coast.”
With the squad first assembling together on Monday on the first official day of pre-season, the former Queensland and Jillaroos great is thrilled with the roster she has assembled for the new season; with 13 new faces in the top 24, including four Origin stars, a Rugby 7s professional and four players who are proud alumni from the Titans female Academy.
“I’m really excited with our squad. It took quite a few months to get there but the girls that are coming, the girls we’ve retained and our young ones coming through our pathways… it’s a really good mix,” Murphy said.
“Especially with our pathways and we talk about it a lot, but it’s so important for us through our academies that have been going for a few years now, to really grow on that and show the girls that with the expansion of the competition, we have that definite pathway here on the Gold Coast and they don’t have to go anywhere.”
Murphy is also excited to be re-joined by former Melbourne Storm legend and premiership winner Matt Geyer in the coaching ranks, as well as injured Titans rake Aaron Booth who continues his coaching journey after commencing earlier this year with the Burleigh Bears in the Mal Meninga Cup.
“With Matt Geyer who was with us last year, I asked him if he would come back and he jumped straight at it. He really enjoyed his first season in the women’s space last year, so I’m excited to see him come back and join us again this year,” Murphy said.
“And Boothy, with him unfortunately being out with injury at the moment, we were looking around for who could fill that other role and he was an obvious choice.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations and he’s just jumped straight into it and will be really good for us here.”