UPDATE: ?Gold Coast's senior football advisor and rugby league Immortal Mal Meninga was kept in the dark about the club's plan to sack coach Justin Holbrook, and now looks set to quit his role at the club.
The Titans dropped the bombshell on Thursday, showing Holbrook the door immediately and announcing Des Hasler will take the reins in 2024.
Hasler departed Manly last year in messy circumstances.
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Meninga, who has been a Titans advisor for several years and whose previous title was head of high performance and culture, ?only found out about the board's plan after it happened.
"I didn't know until today which disappoints me a little bit," Meninga said on SEN radio.
"The club rang me this morning and I don't know how to feel about it to be honest.
"It's a huge decision in the middle of the year and we are on the precipice of the finals.
"They made a decision based on the measurements they employed over the off-season around their defence. (The board) felt we needed to look at the bigger picture.
"Justin is a great person so I'm obviously feeling a little disappointed for him. I hope it doesn't damage Justin's reputation."
When asked about the potential signing of veteran halfback Ben Hunt, Meninga admitted he is not kept in the loop by the Titans anymore.
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"I have no idea, I feel ostracised a little bit," Meninga said.
"I've got a bit of thinking to do about what I do in the future... I don't envisage being part of the club moving forward."?
Holbrook ?earned a strong reputation as a coach in the Super League, and was signed by the Titans in 2020, but "as the club works towards the 2030 strategy of bringing success, the decision has been made to move in a new direction", a statement released by the club on Thursday read.
"We are grateful to Justin for his contribution to the club over the past four seasons," Titans CEO Steve Mitchell said.
"We are here to bring success to the Gold Coast and in order to do so we feel that this is the change necessary to deliver on our promise which is to win premierships."
Gold Coast played one finals game in the three-and-a-half years Holbrook was in charge, and currently sits ninth on the competition ladder with six wins from 13 games.
According to Nine's Danny Weidler, the Titans told Holbrook he was no longer needed at 9.30am? on Thursday following a 10-day negotiation with Hasler.
Hasler, 62, ?coached Manly to premierships in 2008 and 2011, before leaving and taking charge of Canterbury.
He led the Bulldogs to grand finals in 2012 and 2014 but the team couldn't win a premiership during his time at the helm.
He returned to the Sea Eagles? in 2019 but then left Brookvale in a cloud of controversy after last season, falling out with club management over the infamous rainbow jersey saga that derailed their campaign.
Hasler will reunite with Kieran Foran on the glitter strip. The coach and star half won the 2011 Manly title together, with Hasler also signing Foran to join the Bulldogs and return to the Sea Eagles.
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