The Titans have drawn up a recruitment hitlist headed by halves Daly Cherry-Evans and Luke Keary in a A$3.9 million blueprint to rebuild the club as a premiership force.
The Gold Coast have more than $3m to spend under the salary cap and are keen to bring Maroons playmaker Cherry-Evansback to Queensland.
It is understood a Gold Coast representative contacted the managers of Cherry-Evans and Keary last week to register the club's interest. Other recruitment targets include Roosters prop Dylan Napa, who recently debuted for the Australian PM's XIII, as the Titans look to shed four years of mediocrity.
The club have yet to table formal offers for the trio, but will discuss three-year deals for Cherry-Evans and Keary worth $1.3m collectively per season. The Manly and Australian halfback will command at least $800,000 annually, while Keary will fetch around $500,000 after helping South Sydney to their first premiership in 43 years.
Cherry-Evans and Keary's current clubs have tabled fresh upgrades and it would take massive offers to convince either to walk away, but the Titans will enter the bidding war.
Few NRL outfits enjoy the salary-cap latitude of the Titans, who are cashed-up after the departure of 11 players last season and have another 10 players off-contract in 2015 as they free up funds to sign three of the most exciting prospects in the code for 2016.
The Titans have struggled for scrumbase continuity in recent years. Five-eighth Aidan Sezer is talented but has battled a series of injuries, while Kelly was offloaded after repeated breakdowns, highlighted by a vein condition in his foot.
Cherry-Evans has expressed an interest in returning to Queensland but, with the Broncos recently signing halfback Ben Hunt to a long-term deal, the Titans are the only Queensland-based club that can afford to meet Cherry-Evans' asking price.
