Marcus Bai blasts son Cooper's Storm contract backflip

Cooper Bai’s decision to remain with the Gold Coast Titans has not gone down well with his father and rugby league great Marcus Bai who shared a scathing critique of the young forward’s contract backflip.

The 19-year-old was set to join the Melbourne Storm next season after agreeing to terms with the powerhouse club earlier this year. However, during the NRL’s mandatory 10-day cooling-off period, Bai had a change of heart following discussions with new Titans coach Josh Hannay and ultimately recommitted to the Gold Coast through to the end of 2027.

The decision stunned his father, who won a premiership with Melbourne in 1999 and believed the Storm offered his son the best environment to develop.

“I’m very cranky about this and I’m pissed off with his management team as well,” Bai told the Courier Mail.

“People might say that’s his decision, but it’s a wrong decision to make.

“I don’t know what he saw (in the Titans) to be honest.

“I’m not happy about it at all.

“The Titans might say he made the right choice. But to me, as an ex-player and his father, he didn’t make the right choice at all. It’s very wrong.”

Marcus revealed he had been heavily involved throughout the contract negotiations and believed his son was destined to follow him to Melbourne.

“I didn’t care about the money (Cooper could earn),” he said.

“I said to Cooper, ‘There are three great clubs (Melbourne, Penrith and the Roosters) who are wanting you, you cannot get any better than that’.

“I said to him, ‘If you go to Melbourne, you will get a chance to play in the grand final and you’ll always be in the top four or top eight. They never miss the finals. That experience is unbelievable’.

“We spoke to Ivan (Cleary), ‘Robbo’ (Robinson) and Craig (Bellamy) about what their plans were for him.”

Marcus said Cooper had initially agreed with the Storm move before the situation changed while he was overseas on business.

“Cooper said to me, ‘I want to go to the Storm because I will have a chance of playing finals’,” he said.

“I was happy and I said, ‘It’s a cooling-off period now... The Titans will come back to you’.”

“When I came back home on February the fifth, he changed his mind,” Marcus said.

“As a Melanesian father, I am the head of the family. In our culture, we make plans for the family, we execute it, and we make sure that it’s the right decision for the family.

“I don’t know what the Titans did to him, but suddenly some people go in there and tell him their plans and there’s something exciting coming at the Titans.

“I said to Cooper, ‘What is exciting here? I’ve been here on the Gold Coast for 20 years, what have they won?’

“But Cooper wants to do it his own way and I’ll sit back and see whether his decision is right or wrong.

“If the Titans struggle this year and it affects his performance, the coaches could say, ‘Hey, we don’t want you anymore. We offered you this before, but you didn’t want to come’.

“That’s why I’m cranky with him.”