'Best version of themselves': Hasler shares his Ted Lasso belief to help improve Titans

There may hardly be any correlation between new coach Des Hasler and fictional TV mentor Ted Lasso... but that hasn't stopped the two-time premiership winner from quoting him.

Helping launch the Titans' new principal partner The Lottery Office last Friday in his first public appearance since being appointed, the 458-game pedagogue shared his vision for the new team he's taking charge of.

But instead of diving into the complexities of how the five-time grand finalist is going to help deliver premiership success to the Gold Coast, he turned to the popular US TV series; sharing his belief on needing to improve the individuals in order to jettison up the ladder.

"I'm going to steal a Ted Lasso line here... it's getting the best versions of people and making people the best versions of themselves on and off the field," Hasler said.

"You ask any of the players that I've worked with in the past.

"It's as simple as that. Footy is the easy part."

Hasler's optimistic leadership to help improve sides via the growth of the individuals themselves has been a staple of his tenures across his 20 years as a first grade mentor.

Current Sea Eagles skipper Daly Cherry-Evans is full of praise for his former coach, who gave the now 305-game half his debut at Manly in 2011.

“Des was great for me at the start of my career. He helped me get a clear understanding of my role for the team which is what you need early on, because at times your head is spinning,” he told NewsCorp earlier this year.

“Later in my career he was unreal at empowering me to play to my strengths but also reminding me that there was also improvement left in my game.

“I’ve always admired Des’s coaching style. He cares deeply about his players and is extremely competitive, which is an awesome combination.”

Titans five-eighth Kieran Foran is also looking forward to re-linking with his former tutor, who also was the first to help him to 282 NRL appearances.

As well as instilling improvement as an individual, the playmaker knows Hasler's other big focus will be on improving the side's relentlessness to stop points. 

"Steeliness around our defence. I think that's been an area of concern for a fair while now up there at the Gold Coast," Foran said in an interview with NRL.com. 

"Des has always been a defensively minded coach and I think he will bring some really good structures and processes around what we need to do there. 

"He seems to be very excited about the role and I think it is going to be great for the club moving forward.

"Des is going to bring everything that Des brings, [with] plenty of intensity around it, and I am sure that we are going to respond the way that we need to."