The injury ravaged Gold Coast are hopeful Dale Copley will make his Titans debut in Friday night's NRL clash with Parramatta, barely 48 hours after signing the out of favour Sydney Roosters centre.
In a shot in the arm for the Gold Coast's depleted backline stocks, the Titans on Wednesday signed Copley until the end of 2018 after the flyer received a Roosters release effective immediately.
A deal had not been struck by the time coach Neil Henry named his 21-strong squad for the clash with the NRL ladder leaders.
But the Titans are keeping their fingers crossed Copley can still run out against the Eels.
A Gold Coast official said the club had applied to the NRL for special dispensation to use Copley or at least have him on standby as an injury replacement.
The Titans are expected to know by Thursday whether Copley is available.
Either way, Henry warned Copley was no quick fix with 12 players either injured or unavailable for the winless Titans ahead of their clash with the ladder leaders.
"Dale is certainly not just a short-term fix," Henry said.
"He is an established NRL player and someone that we believe will add a lot to our playing group both on and off the field."
Copley's clearance can not come soon enough for the Titans.
Debutant Tyler Cornish, 22, has been asked to step into the big shoes left behind by NRL star fullback Jarryd Hayne, who is facing six weeks out with an ankle injury.
Wingers Anthony Don and Daniel Vidot are also out while ex-Titans skipper William Zillman (calf) and English import Dan Sarginson (knee) have been named in the Titans' backline despite being under injury clouds.
"It's no secret that we have a large contingent of players on the injured list and the fact we've been able to get the deal done with Dale is a good result for us," Henry said.
Copley will be hoping for a bit of luck with his own fitness at the Titans.
The injury-plagued centre has been restricted to 86 games since making his NRL debut for Brisbane way back in 2009.
Even Broncos coach Wayne Bennett wished Copley luck when he heard the Titans news on Wednesday.
"He has had a couple of those (injuries). Sometimes you go through that period in your career and hopefully it is behind him," he said.
"He's a good professional player, a good kid. He will do his best for them."
The Titans had their eye on Copley after he fell out of favour at the Roosters as coach Trent Robinson preferred Blake Ferguson and Latrell Mitchell in the centres.
The 25-year-old played the first two rounds in reserve grade this year and still had two years to run on his Roosters contract.
Copley spent six seasons in Brisbane before playing 14 games with the Roosters last year, scoring five tries.
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