The Titans have launched an 11th hour bid to retain young gun Cooper Bai, who has temporarily backflipped on plans to join the Melbourne Storm.
Code Sports reported Gold Coast coach Josh Hannay and Titans football boss Scott Sattler have held urgent talks with Bai amid fears he is set to defect to the Storm.
The 19-year-old lock played one game for the Titans in his rookie season in 2025, debuting in the final round win over the Tigers, while he scored one try in three Tests for PNG in the Pacific Championships.
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The teenage sensation has been earmarked for a big future and was linked with a move to the Storm, but the Titans and coach Josh Hannay are desperate to keep him at the club long-term.
However, sources close to the situation revealed Bai had “one foot out the door at the Titans”.
Bai is signed to the Titans until the end of the 2026 season, but dropped a bombshell on the club before Christmas, with his intentions to join the Storm in 2027 and beyond.
The Queensland under-19s star was tabled a lucrative offer by the Storm, with Melbourne privately confident they had their man, but he didn’t sign a contract.
That has left the door ajar for the Titans to make a last-ditch bid to retain Bai with a contract extension and so far the talented forward has paused to weigh up his options.
The Titans have reportedly tabled a new three-year extension that would keep Bai on the Gold Coast until the end of 2029 at least.
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The Roosters were also chasing Bai, but have dropped out of the race, in the belief that Bai to the Storm was a done deal.
Bai’s potential defection would be a massive blow to new coach Hannay’s plans to rebuild the Titans around local junior talent.
NRL legend Gorden Tallis rates the son of former Storm winger Marcus Bai as one of the game’s best rising forwards.
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Bai’ father, who played 144 games for the Storm and won a premiership in 1999 is considered a big factor his son’s potential move to the Storm.
Bai Sr believes Cooper could benefit from working under master coach Craig Bellamy at his former club, which has set the standard in the NRL for over two decades.
However, the Titans’ offer has thrown a spanner in the works and Bai will now put a contract call on hold until he has played some trial football and processed his decision further.
When he took over the Titans job last year, Hannay said keeping Bai was one of his most important priorities.
“Cooper is critically important to our future,” Hannay said.
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“Anyone in our game, particularly in southeast Queensland, was well aware of his reputation as a kid coming up.
“Then we saw what he was able to do in his debut in the last game of the season.
“He showed despite his youth, he is only 19, the world is at his feet.
“He has all the attributes of being a player that can have a long, sustained and successful career in this game at the Titans.
“He is representative of the kids we want to keep at this club.”
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