New year, same goal for Murphy on eve of 2024 season
Titans coach Karyn Murphy wants to put last year's grand final heartbreak in the rear vision mirror as her squad prepare to kickstart their 2024 campaign against the Dragons on Sunday.
Having spent the off-season reflecting on the opportunity that may have gotten away from the team in their first big dance last year, the NRLW mentor wants to put all that to bed with a new season commencing - although the goal of delivering the Gold Coast their first title hasn't been lost despite looking ahead from 2023.
"The premiership is always the goal. We’re always open about that… we want to get that premiership and bring it to the Gold Coast," Murphy said.
"In saying that, last year is definitely last year and it does give you that motivation but to be honest, we don’t really talk about that.
"We have a new group and it’s a new year, so it’s all about starting again and looking forward to 2024.
"We don’t need to change too much. We have a similar squad and what worked for us last year was that gritty defensive team, so it’s about coming back this year and building on what we had last year."
Not completely ignoring being on the wrong end of the decider against the Knights, Murphy - who is entering her third season as head coach - doesn't feel much needs to change given their finish, with the plan to build on last year's griwth.
"I'm learning all the time, especially personally as a coach, and the players will learn from last year as well," she said.
"I'm just looking at what works for us and what we want to keep and what we want to be better at.
"We had an off-season to look at [last year's season]. It's not about starting again. We had to this time last year, but the lessons from last year is that it did work for us last year, so it's just being better and more consistent at that."
Match: Dragons v Titans
Round 1 -
home Team
Dragons
7th Position
away Team
Titans
4th Position
Venue: WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Only making six changes to the roster - three forced due to season-ending injuries - the Gold Coast coach is proud of the squad's continuity, but is also excited to debut another young gun against the Dragons this week with Lily Kolc to become Titan #42 on Sunday.
"Lily's a young player who has come through our pathways as a local on the Gold Coast. She was a development player last year and learnt what it was all about and knows all the girls well," Murphy said.
"She's an exciting young dummy-half and has had the opportunity to learn from one of the great nines in our game in Brittany Breayley-Nati. She's worked hard and learned her trade. She's a quiet player but deserves her opportunity.
"She's definitely a quick dummy-half so I'm looking forward to her adding a bit of spark when she comes on."
