AUSTRALIAN football has missed the boat in its quest to establish an AFL team on the Gold Coast, with any such venture bound to play second fiddle to the Titans.

That's the confident opinion of NRL chief executive David Gallop, who says the Titans and rugby league have already made an indelible impression on the Gold Coast community.

Speaking on the Gold Coast yesterday at the launch of a scholarship program for Titans-contracted players to study at Griffith University, Gallop said rugby league had trumped its rival code in the blossoming metropolis.