THE GOLD COAST TITANS rugby league club has clarified its position in relation to a Papua New Guinea connection.

The club said that whilst there have been discussions about PNG becoming aligned to the Titans in a number of different ways, the club has not entered into 'sell-off talks' with the PNG consortium and will not be transferring home games to PNG as reported in media outlets.

Titans managing director Michael Searle said the club had been approached by the PNG consortium earlier this year to seek advice on various aspects of their push to join the NRL but no formal agreement had been reached.

"The reality is some nine months ago we were approached by a PNG consortium who identified the Titans as a dynamic and successful best-practice model for PNG's aspirations of eventually entering the NRL,'' said Searle.

"They felt they could learn from our experience about successful player recruitment, performance and commercial viability whilst continuing to achieve our objectives in the community around Health, Education, Training and Employment.

"They have since put forward various proposals on the table for discussion, including talent exchange programmes, social delivery of key messages around education and employment and a potential equity investment but we have not yet determined how best we can assist PNG's goals.

"One thing is for sure, the Titans are a Gold Coast team, and will always remain that, regardless of whether we agree to any link to PNG.

"We'll definitely continue to encourage and assist any initiative to involve PNG in the NRL, however, the club's stakeholders will not be selling any of their equity in the club."

Source: Titans Press Release, 17 November