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Live sport on SN this weekend"Keeps deflecting": Hasler told to be honest after fiery meeting
Sam Kosack • August 24th, 2025 3:37 pm
After Saturday’s fiery press conference, Des Hasler has been urged to provide clarity around David Fifita’s contract status in a bid to take heat off the Titans.
Following the Titans’ loss to the Warriors, Hasler’s press conference turned when journalist Travis Meyn repeatedly asked if Fifita had been granted permission to negotiate with rivals.
Hasler responded in his trademark unforthcoming manner, simply repeating “he’s signed for 2026”.
The Queensland journalist grew frustrated with Hasler’s refusal to shed light, taking aim at the club’s attendance for the game, labelling it "embarrassing".
The topic arose after Rabbitohs’ coach Wayne Bennett said he would be interested in talking to Fifita should he be granted permission to negotiate with rivals.
Premiership winner and Maori All Stars coach Adam Blair urged Hasler to provide an update around Fifita’s contract status to avoid further pressure mounting on the already embattled club as they approach the wooden spoon.
“The journalists are getting frustrated with what Dessie’s (Hasler) giving. He doesn’t give too much away at all,” Blair told SEN 1170.
“He takes you on a bit of a journey where you don’t even want to listen, you just want to get the answer.
“I think that the biggest concern up there is everyone just wants to know what's going on, and the longer he keeps deflecting, the more the journos are going to keep asking what is the answer.
“It'd be hard if you're sitting next to a coach when you're thinking maybe tell them what they want to hear so that we can just move forward and move on.
“I reckon the season's been frustrating for them. I think Dessie’s frustrated, so it's a hard one and I think people just want to know the answers.
“The question about the fans… the fans there in Queensland… there are a lot of Kiwis there. The Warriors fans travel everywhere they go, but there are a lot of Warriors fans in Queensland. So I think that question was a bit harsh.
"I know that he's angry about getting the right answer and just saying he signed for 2026.
“Obviously David Fifita is a marquee signing, is a lot of money, and hasn't been on the field.
“He's injured, coming back from rehab and everyone just wants to know. And then you got Wayne Bennett coming out and saying what he said so it just adds a bit more fuel to the fire.”
Having been coached by Wayne Bennett at the Broncos, Blair empathised with Fifita’s position and believes the South Sydney ‘master coach’ could be the one to rejuvenate the forward’s career.
“You have to have someone that's relatable to, to David… having someone mentor him and being around him and guiding him on his journey, someone that he can trust and can speak to,” Blair said.
“Wayne's a big advocate of allowing people to be themselves and supporting them with who they are as people. He's big on player welfare, understanding what they need.
“I think the biggest thing for David is he needs to find the love for the game. I think when we play the game of rugby league, it can get consuming and at the end of the day, you're only judged on your performance on the field as an individual.
“As I got older, I took the game for what it was, but I went out there and made sure that I just had fun with what I did, because every day it's a grind.
“I go back to 2015 when I went to the Broncos. I wasn't going through the best period of my career down at the West Tigers, but I went to the Broncos under Wayne Bennett (and he) said to me, ’I just want you to play you’.
“I go back to 2015 when I went to the Broncos. I wasn't going through the best period of my career down at the West Tigers, but I went to the Broncos under Wayne Bennett (and he) said to me, ’I just want you to play you’.
“Just do Adam Blair and have fun with what you do.
“We all know what Wayne can do, he can unlock someone to believe in themselves more so than anything. That's his superpower as a coach.
“He wasn't a father figure for me, but he gave me the belief in who I was as a person and how I could play.”
