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Gold Coast players have been told nothing is set in stone by new coach Justin Holbrook and the race is on to secure starting spots for next year's NRL season.

New Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook has told the NRL club's players there's no guarantees heading into next year's campaign.

The Titans players began life under Holbrook on Monday with a first pre-season hit-out in sweltering conditions at their Gold Coast HQ.

Before the session Holbrook and his staff outlined their expectations to the playing group before the 43-year-old held one-on-one player chats.

Titans captain Ryan James said it had been made clear the disastrous 2019 campaign was ancient history and it was up to the players to prove their worth heading into round one of 2020.

"We know what we did last year, we know where we finished and the only people that can change that are us," James said.

"A lot of the blame has been on everyone else but it's the players who go out there and perform every week, that go out there and win or lose games.

"He (Holbrook) said it in the meeting. Nothing's guaranteed and you've got to go out there and prove what you can do.

"That's what everyone's going to do. It just gives everyone hope they can be there round one and that's what it should be like."

Monday's session was a big moment for James, who spent most of the 2019 campaign doing rehab after tearing an ACL in April.

Although he's unable to do any contact drills until the new year, James couldn't have been happier to be back training with the main group.

He also has a good first impression of Holbrook, who comes to the club after a successful stint in English Super League with St Helens.

"He's good. He's just a down-to-earth bloke and knows his footy ... just asking what we wanted to do and what we wanted to work on," James said.

"We know our game the best and if they can put things in place which helps us that's definitely a plus."