Incumbent Titans hooker Sam Verrills has welcomed the newfound challenge for Gold Coast's No. 9 jersey with the arrival of two new dummy-halves at Parkwood.
Adding to the depth in that position is Panthers understudy Luke Sommerton who makes the move for a new opportunity after playing 12 games for Penrith after his debut in 2023; meanwhile, Ipswich Jets utility Oliver Pascoe has also been given a shot in a NRL system after claiming the prestigious Petero Civonceva Medal as the Hostplus Cup player of the year last season.
Verrills, who begins his fourth season as a Titan in 2026, has enjoyed the friendly competition that has been created by new coach Josh Hannay - especially with Sommerton bringing premiership-winning experience to the Coast.
"Luke's a great lad and he's come from a really good system at Penrith. He's brought a lot of knowledge from that system and has bought into the culture and club here," he said.
"He's a nine, I'm a nine; that's how footy works and it's healthy competition.
"Last year, there were other nines here too and I think you always want to train as hard as you can each week [to earn your spot in the team].
"It's not my jersey... everyone has to fight for their jersey.
"He's a really good addition to the club and I'm happy to have him up here."
The 27-year-old has had his own title success in his maiden season with the Roosters in 2019 and hopes to replicate that with the new environment being created at Titans HQ.
"I'd love to win another comp, especially up here as our maiden premiership," Verrills said.
"It's really hard to win a comp as you can tell. That [ambition] is well down the track, we're still in pre-season but you've got to form good connections on and off the field and have a really good culture [as a starting point].
"That's what Josh is driving. Our culture is changing and we've brought in a lot of good players on and off the field.
"If you can do that right and respect each other, it goes a long way on the field as well."
'We're really enjoying the new environment': Verrills
It's expected Verrills will form part of Hannay's first-choice spine for Round 1 with the Titans mentor having previously hinted at who'll line-up at fullback, five-eighth and halfback in the season opener.
"I’d love to give [AJ Brimson] a real opportunity at six," Hannay told SEN in November.
"I think his versatility has hurt him at times throughout his career to this point, but he has a great ability to play six.
"I see his combination with Jayden Campbell (halfback) and Keano Kini (fullback) in our spine as a really dangerous one."
