GOLD Coast boss Graham Annesley will consider branding the nearly bare Titans jersey with a charity logo if the struggling NRL club can’t fill a sponsorship void worth more than $1 million ahead of the season kick-off in 35 days.

As the NRL today launches the 2015 season with an event in Auckland, it’s impossible to escape the fact the Titans have yet to fill more than half of the sponsorship holes on their playing strip including the most expensive piece of real estate as major sponsor.

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It is a dire position for the club just five weeks before their first home game to be without a front-of-jersey, lower back or sleeve sponsor that would be conservatively valued at a combined $1.25 million per season.

media_camera Titan Dave Taylor wearing a jersey without a main sponsor. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Annesley remains optimistic the right corporate deals will be made in time but admitted the club had spoken about possibly following the lead of Canterbury, who in 2008 had such an image crisis they gave front-of-jersey rights to Camp Quality free of charge.

Now the Bulldogs are one of the NRL’s strongest brands in Sydney and the Titans hope to rebuild their own image after cutting ties with their troubled past.

Annesley said the Titans won’t compromise their sponsorship value by underselling either of the three assets but at this stage no deals were close to being finalised before round one.

“We have spoken about that and are considering all options,” Annesley said when asked about possibly opting for a charity sponsor.

“It’s not ideal having so many sponsors come to the end of their agreements at the same time … but it was something that we inherited.”

media_camera Titans CEO Graham Annesley.

It’s not like the Titans are disconnected from their community.

Their commitment to local grassroots programs is beyond compare and yesterday Dave Taylor and Beau Falloon helped launch a junior sign-on day which will be held at Cbus Super Stadium next Saturday.

Annesley hopes the return to footy action with the Nines this weekend will spark corporate interest, while Taylor said the team were ready to rebound from a horrendous 2014 with a bold showing this season.

“I feel no pressure on the Titans this year. Look we don’t really have too much to prove, we just have to go out and play strong hard footy and just rip in and start playing consistently,” he said.

“If we can get a few wins under our belt early (in the NRL season) it might turn a few heads.

“We’ve got a cracking (Nines) side to compete and hopefully we can go out and give it our best.

“We just need to get a few wins and get our confidence back and work off the confidence.”

Originally published as No-name Titans to grin and bare it