"What have I learnt?" Des Hasler posed during his final pre-match press conference as the Gold Coast coach. "That’s a really good question and probably one I’ll have to process over the next couple of months."
A sense of confusion is one that many coaches and players have felt after their time on the Glitter Strip is brought to an end.
And the two-time premiership-winning mentor is certainly no different, in this regard, after originally being parachuted in to deliver a premiership.
Hasler failed to do so during his short-lived reign and may now walk out of the doors with a wooden spoon in his possession instead.
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"I obviously would have liked for the results to have gone a little bit differently," Hasler reflected. "But I leave knowing there is a really good platform for Josh Hannay to come in on and continue to work on."
Hasler was brought in after Justin Holbrook was brutally axed midway through the 2023 campaign.
The club’s hierarchy cited how they believed the former St Helens coach wasn’t the man who could deliver them a title.
Hasler, with his noted pedigree, was seen as the ideal man who could get a tune out of the perennial underachievers.
Yet he too has failed to spark a young, talented roster, as inconsistencies and the usual deficiencies in defence have continued to plague the Titans.
The club won just eight of their 24 games during Hasler’s first term in charge.
They are rooted to the bottom of the ladder this year, ahead of the last round of the regular season, winning just five of their matches.
"You never say it’s the end," Hasler declared when asked whether the curtain was finally coming down on his time as an NRL head coach.
"I’ll head back down south and process a few things.
"Not quite like Wayne [Bennett]," he laughed when a follow-up question was put to him about whether he wanted to emulate the legendary figure's extensive stay in the game.
"No. I wouldn’t do that to people. So, not quite like Wayne."
Since his golden first period in charge of Manly and impressive tenure with Canterbury, Hasler has generally been unable to recapture the magic he once had up in the box.
During his two seasons in charge of the Titans, they have failed to make it anywhere near the top eight.
In his past seven seasons as a head coach across the Dogs, Sea Eagles and Titans, he has led his teams into the finals on just two occasions.
Yet he stated that he still believed he would have been able to turn the Gold Coast around if he was afforded another campaign.
"You’re always going to say you wanted more time," Hasler said. "But that’s the decision that has been made and we’ve all just got to get on with it now."