Titans captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui has been set free to focus on his own blockbusting game now that he has veteran playmaker Kieran Foran beside him to call the shots on the field.
The 32-year-old Foran's recruitment from Manly, where he won the 2011 NRL title, may well prove to be one of the shrewdest acquisitions in Titans history.
The Titans had their season launch on the Gold Coast on Wednesday night where a sense of optimism permeated proceedings after a season which ended with them missing finals football.
Titans coach Justin Holbrook told AAP that No.6 Foran's presence, along with that of former Roosters hooker and 2019 premiership winner Sam Verrills, had set his 23-year-old skipper free.
"Kieran will run a lot of the footy stuff along with Sam and (fullback) AJ Brimson and that will free Tino up to do what he does best which is lead by example," Holbrook said.
"That will take the burden off Tino having to worry as much about decisions on the field.
"Tino gives it everything each week. That won't change. Now we have the footy smarts around him which will help our side and help Tino as well."
Fa'asuamaleaui was a tower of strength at prop through tough times last year. He still set standards that led to him winning a State of Origin series with Queensland and a World Cup with Australia, but his demeanour after club losses suggested he was carrying a heavy load as the Titans slipped out of finals contention.
In 2020 he was a young front-rower at Melbourne surrounded by a phenomenal brains trust that included skipper Cameron Smith.
All he had to do was his job in the premiership-winning side. Two years later he found himself having to worry about his own role plus the running of the team on the field.
"Last year was a tough year but to have someone like Kieran Foran come in who has been there and done that in the game is awesome for me and us ," Fa'asuamaleaui said.
"It will allow me to lead from the front and get the team going forward. He will direct the team.
"I played under the best captain and player in the world in Cameron Smith and that experience helped me get through last year which was a huge learning curve. That is only going to benefit me and the team with our resilience.
"No-one likes losing. That desire to win really burns, and I am sure we will get more wins this season."
The Titans finished ninth in Holbrook's first season in charge in 2020 before surging to make the finals in 2021. Last year was a disappointment when they slipped back to 13th.
The start to the pre-season of 23-year-old half Tanah Boyd and electric 21-year-old speed demon Alofiana Khan-Pereira has also added spark to the direction provided by Foran and Verrills.
"I feel really good about our squad this year," Holbrook said.
"The experienced people we have brought in are exactly what we were missing last year and we have got the right balance with really exciting young guys coming through."
