The Titans crisis has deepened with Greg Bird facing the sack after became the latest player charged in the cocaine disaster which threatens to destroy the club.
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Bird and fellow representative star Dave Taylor joined teammates Beau Falloon, Jamie Dowling and Kalifa Faifai Loa to be stood down by the club and issued with notices to appear in court in relation to drug offences.
The Titans are already without a major sponsor and don't have a training venue, now they'll need to confront the reality of starting the season without three of their starting forwards with the five players to appear in court in March. Bird was charged with two counts of supplying cocaine, Taylor one count of possession and one count of supplying and Faifai Loa one count of supplying.
The Queensland Crime Commission said the men were "identified contacting the [drug] syndicate and arranging for the supply of cocaine to friends and colleagues between August 2014 and December 2014."
Titans chief executive Graham Annesley said "to the best of my knowledge" no other Gold Coast player would be implicated.
"I don't think anything would surprise me," Annesley said. "My information is this is the last of it from our club's perspective. I can't give you a guarantee about an outcome. That's to the best of my knowledge.
"We've had enough. We are all over it. The players that aren't involved in this are over it. We want some clear air. We want the opportunity to show the potential this club has."
Former Titans squad member Joe Vickery was also charged, as was as code-hopper Karmichael Hunt. Vickery was hit with seven counts of supplying cocaine. The Titans players have engaged legal representation at their own cost. Bird and Taylor returned to the Gold Coast on Sunday with the rest of the squad, following the side's 30-10 trial loss to North Queensland.
After being sacked as skipper in December for urinating in public during his wedding celebrations in Byron Bay, Bird now faces the axe from the club.
Annesley said the five players will be asked to front the club's board in the coming days.
"The club intends to run a separate, contractual process where the players in the near future will be required to attend and meet with the board and explain why action shouldn't be [taken for] reputation damage the club has occurred as a result of the players placing themselves [in this position]," Annesley said.
"The playing contract provides a number of options which can be taken."
There are continued questions surrounding the Titans survival following the latest saga. They remain without a training base after leaving The Southport School as a result of the allegations against Falloon and Dowling on Friday. Annesley said the club had taken a hit but vowed to fight on.
"This is another bad day for the club and a bad day for the game," Annesley said. "I apologise to everyone associated with the game and everyone that's trying to take this game forward from these setbacks which are holding the game back.
"It was damaging on Friday, it's more damaging today. Each of these revelations places the club in a more difficult position.
"The club's reputation and the future of this club is bigger and better than one individual.
No one is giving up. These things to go in cycles. The club will recover. The NRL have been enormously supportive and are still supportive. I've had discussions with them today. They are still 100 per cent behind this club, this region."
Annesley said he plans to address the rest of the playing group on Monday.
Meanwhile, the latest drama has come as a cruel blow for the Titans who were hopeful of luring Manly's Daly Cherry-Evans on a deal worth $1.3million per season . Cherry-Evans is close to deciding if he'll stick with Manly or switch to the Titans or Cronulla behind this year.
"The decision about Daly's future is with Daly," Annesley said. "Hopefully one of the things which is coming loud and clear out of the adversity is this club is determined to turn this around."
