Holbrook knows this and there is a feeling at the Titans that he is, at long last, the man to remedy the situation on and off the field. After the messy sacking of Neil Henry and the rushed, and ultimately unsuccessful, appointment of Garth Brennan, the Gold Coast believe they might have jagged a very good coach in the making.

Loading

Some important building blocks have already been put in place. The respected Jim Dymock has been hired as an assistant coach. So has Jimmy Lenihan, who just coached the Burleigh Bears to an Intrust Super Cup win in the Queensland second tier.

Importantly, he is viewed as a conduit between the Titans and the Gold Coast and northern NSW rugby league heartlands. An enduring criticism of the Titans is they have remained aloof from one of the code's strongest recruiting regions, with stars like Payne Haas and David Fifita playing elsewhere.

Holbrook will have little time to get to know his players before they return for training but has found success wherever he has worked as a coach.

Another positive is Holbrook might open the door to top-shelf English stars, which has proven a  successful strategy for South Sydney and, more recently, Canberra under Ricky Stuart.

He has proclaimed 24-year-old St Helens prop Luke Thompson as the best in the world. Thompson is on the recruitment list for a host of NRL clubs, including Souths, but Holbrook might be the secret weapon the Titans need to land a big fish and start the turnaround.