The Gold Coast Titans have held on in the final minutes to upset the Brisbane Broncos 18-12 at Suncorp Stadium in a hard fought contest.
Result
Gold Coast Titans 18
Tries: David Fifita (40), Brian Kelly (44), Alofiana Khan-Pereira (53)
Goals: Tanah Boyd (40, 54, 75)
Brisbane Broncos 12
Tries: Tom Flegler (29), Ezra Mam (62)
Goals: Adam Reynolds (30, 63)
Report
Suncorp Stadium was bathed in sunshine as the Broncos welcomed the Titans for a fiery South-East Queensland derby. For the Titans, Tino Fa’asuamalaeui was a late withdrawal, earning a rest following Origin on Wednesday night.
Throughout the first half, both sides looked fatigued as the fast pace and the heat impacted their attack. It took 29 minutes for the deadlock to be broken, but after several repeat sets in a row, the Broncos opened the scoring. Pat Carrigan passed short to Tom Flegler close to the line and he crashed over for a try. After conceding points, the Titans ill-discipline was their downfall.
In the shadows of halftime, a controversial call against Reece Walsh saw the Titans get one more chance, and David Fifita cashed in. He got a short ball from Kieran Foran and scored the Titans first try, levelling the score 6-6 at the break.
In contrast to the first half, it only took four minutes for points to be scored after halftime. Again it was Foran and Fifita combining for the Titans, this time Fifita offloaded to Brian Kelly who grabbed a try. After taking the lead, it didn’t take long for the Titans to extend their advantage. Alofiana Khan-Pereira showed off his speed as he broke away for a long range try.
Sensing the game was slipping away, the Broncos responded. Following a close call where Corey Oates knocked-on over the line, they looked to have scored through Reece Walsh. However, the bunker overturned the try due to an obstruction. Eventually they broke through, when Ezra Mam burrowed his way over, cutting the margin back to four.
The final 10 minutes saw both sides denied tries, with a knock-on and forward pass respectively. After those near misses, the Titans got back-to-back penalties and chose to take the two points. That would be enough to get them home, as they held on to upset the Broncos 18-12.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – David Fifita (Gold Coast Titans)
2 – Pat Carrigan (Brisbane Broncos)
1 – Moeaki Fotuaika (Gold Coast Titans)
