‘I share your heartbreak’ ex-Manly coach Des Hasler tells inquest into death of Keith Titmuss

Former Manly NRL coach Des Hasler has told the family of late Sea Eagles player Keith Titmuss he’s “so, so sorry” their “beautiful boy” died during a 2020 training session and “I share your heartbreak, I really do.”

Evidence tendered at a coronial inquest heard the 20-year-old Titmuss died of exertional heat stroke after suffering a seizure following a preseason cardio workout overseen by Hasler at the club’s Narrabeen base on Sydney’s northern beaches, on November 23 2020.

Related: Manly player Keith Titmuss’s death likely caused by exertional heat stroke, inquiry hears

Paramedics who arrived at the scene noted Titmuss’s temperature was 41.9 degrees, and his heart rate was in excess of 140 beats per minute. But coaching staff and medical practitioners did not identify the young star as suffering heat stroke and instead treated the symptoms of his seizure. Titmuss died five hours later in hospital.

“Keith was a beautiful boy, he was much loved, very highly regarded, and very highly respected,” Hasler told the inquest.

The inquest before Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee heard from two cardiologists that an autopsy discovered Titmuss possessed a rare heart condition in which 70 per cent of a main artery was blocked, but this “severe narrowing” wasn’t the probable cause of his death.

Manly coaching staff noted Titmuss had struggled throughout the training session, after his weight increased from 112kg to 116.9kg. Players who testified this week told the inquest it was a “hard” session, ranking it nine out of 10 in terms of intensity.

Hasler rated the intensity of the session as six or seven out of 10.

The 62-year-old premiership-winner – who is about to embark on his first season as coach of the Gold Coast Titans – was asked if he felt the session would have been “demanding”.

“Parts of it would have been challenging,” he replied, “but there were also planned stoppages to give players the opportunity to recover and to rehydrate before we moved to the next phase.”

However, Hasler said there was an inherent tension between players wanting to push themselves in the preseason to gain selection and impress selectors, and coaches and club staff wanting them to avoid injury.

“We wanted to make sure it wasn’t too arduous,” Hasler continued. “We don’t want to place the players in a position where they can become injured.”

Counsel assisting coroner Adam Casselden asked Hasler if he would do anything differently in hindsight.

“If I’d have known that such a tragic thing was going to happen, would I have changed parts of the training session? Probably,” Hasler replied.

Earlier in the day, the inquest heard from former Sea Eagles Club medical officer Nathan Gibbs who recommended the NRL mandate a staggered approach to pre-season training to reduce the risk of exertional heat stroke.

The inquest continues next week.