'It's good for us': Hasler's tough love heralded by senior Titan

Veteran forward Isaac Liu has given a unique insight into Des Hasler's gruelling pre-season on the Gold Coast, revealing he's thrived from one of the toughest preparations in 12 seasons of NRL.

Playing a part in three premiership campaigns under fellow experienced mentor Trent Robinson at the Roosters - who has also been known for his brutal starts to seasons - the 32-year-old believes the tough love is what he and his Titans teammates need in order to turn around the results of the past two seasons.

"It's definitely been tough and probably one of the toughest pre-seasons I've ever done; but it's been good, especially under Des as our new coach," Liu said.

"He brings success. He's been around for awhile and has gained valuable experience.

"He's very straight forward and a tough man to crack, but it's good for us and the boys.

"It's always good to have a tough coach laying down the basic rules and being straight forward and clear of where we're heading.

"We're definitely heading in the right direction and hopefully we can get good things out of this year."

The change has included an added emphasis on defence, with the 249-gamer believing that will be the catalyst to securing a finals berth after missing out on playoffs the past two seasons.

"There's been a big change with Des coming here. He's really put the foot down and established how we want to play and how we want to defend," Liu said.

"We're really looking forward to putting that defence out there."

Further motivating his work towards the season opener is a personal milestone, with the forward set to celebrate his 250th game against the Dragons at Cbus Super Stadium.