The Titans have given utility Will Smith an immediate release after he asked to leave the club.
The news comes amid a horror period for the Gold Coast, with star playmaker AJ Brimson on Thursday night describing his team as “weak” after succumbing to an eighth loss in their last nine games.
Smith, who can play anywhere in the spine, has played just nine games for the Titans since joining them from the Eels in the off-season.
READ MORE: Chaotic opening day leaves first Test between England and New Zealand evenly balanced
READ MORE: Tennis farce that’s ‘punished every player’
READ MORE: Titans star blasts ‘weak’ team after loss
ULTIMATE GUIDE: State of Origin Game 1
The utility will return to NSW on compassionate grounds, according to a brief statement issued by the Titans on Friday. That puts the 29-year-old on the open market with less than a month to secure his future, due to the impending June 30 deadline by which clubs must finalise their top 30 squad.
Smith has previously played for the Panthers and the Eels. He made his NRL debut for Penrith in 2014 and played 21 top grade games before shifting to the Eels after the 2016 season.
He became something of a regular at Parramatta, playing 54 games in his four season there before departing for the Titans at the end of last season.
Watch State of Origin exclusively live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now.
With the Gold Coast sitting second bottom on the ladder with just six points from their 13 games, it has been an unhappy move.
Smith’s release comes less than 24 hours after the Titans were thumped 32-6 by the high-flying Cowboys despite scoring the first try of the match.
It was a dispiriting defeat, and one that had Brimson doing some soul searching on live TV in the post match.
“It’s weak. I think it’s pretty obvious we can’t play for 80 minutes,” Brimson told Nine’s Johnathan Thurston when questioned about his side’s mental toughness.
“I don’t think it’s any secret that we’re weak at the moment, and we’ve been weak as of late.
“It’s just not good enough. It’s quite embarrassing, to be honest.”
To rub salt into the wound the Titans lost livewire fullback Jayden Campbell to a hamstring injury in the match, prompting Andrew Johns to say the club was “shot now”.
Stream the NRL premiership 2022 live and free on 9Now.
“He’s the only one who sparks them,” Johns said on Nine’s post-game coverage.
“At the moment they are just treading water, really struggling for creativity in attack. He’s the only one that provides any spark.
“They score one try tonight in the 16th minute and didn’t look like scoring again… it’s going to be a tough period with Campbell not there.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!