The final round will pit the last placed Gold Coast Titans against the second last St George Illawarra Dragons in a match that has no impact on the ladder.
MATCH DETAILS
Both teams had their chances in the opening stanza on the back of entertaining and attractive football. The Titans were let down by their poor fifth tackle choices, while the Dragons weren’t able to find that final pass when they looked threatening. The first try came off a repeat set for the Titans. Jarrod Wallace offloaded to Jai Arrow, who dummied, jinked, and barged his way over under the post to give the Titans the first points of the match. A fifth-tackle penalty conceded by the Titans put the Dragons deep on the attack at the twenty minute mark and the Dragons were able to camp themselves down that end and almost crossed through Paul Vaughan. That was the only time they close with the Titans able to hold them out and force the turnover. The Dragons continued to make costly mistakes, however; they should have been awarded a try when Gareth Widdop crossed. The play was called back for a penalty to the Titans for an alleged tackle in the air despite replays suggesting otherwise. The Dragons took full advantage of a scrum on halfway when Tim Lafai offloaded for Jonus Pearson, who ran down the wing and dodged his way around the cover defenders to score the first try for the Dragons. The halftime ending with both teams on 6 points.
The Titans should have scored an early try but were denied by some desperate Dragons defence. The Titans made a break through AJ Brimson and linked up with Phillip Sami on the inside only for Gareth Widdop to come across in cover. A few plays later Tannah Boyd was over the try line for the ball to be knocked from his grasp by a covering tackle from Korbin Sims. The Dragons were over only moments later when Luciano Leilua – being dragged over the sideline – popped a ball up for Euan Aitken to race away and find Corey Norman in support. The match opened up in attack and both sides were playing end-to-end football. A poor fifth tackle option sent Tyrone Peachey downfield and from his quick play-the-ball, Mitch Rein split two tired defenders and raced away for a try. A tiny error from Euan Aitken was picked up on video replay, denying Tristan Sailor an intercept try. Ben Hunt looked dangerous throughout the night with his direct running and he crossed the line next, running off James Graham and shrugging off defenders. A few sets later, Paul Vaughan offloaded to Gareth Widdop, with the five eight linking with Lafai before getting the ball back and linking with his halves partner Ben Hunt to streak away for his second. The Titans regained the ball from a short kick off and spread the ball out to Phillip Sami, who crossed in the corner with an acrobatic dive. The players continued their open style of play right until the final moments finishing off an entertaining match with the Dragons winning their final match of the year 24-16 over the Titans.
FOUR POINTERS
MICHAEL GORDON SAYS GOODBYE
The Titans – along with the NRL – said goodbye to Michael Gordon tonight. The fullback ended his career this season after 261 first grade games for 5 different clubs and ended with 92 tries. Michael Gordon was tested all night in defence, coming up with a few lovely defensive saves. None typified his effort more than when he stopped Jonus Pearson down one wing and off the next play was on the other side to hold Josh Kerr up.
POSITIVES FROM BLEAK SEASONS
The Dragons bench players and younger players stood up and will be hoping that another full pre-season will instil them with the required steel for first grade football. Players like Jackson Ford, Josh Kerr, and Luciano Leilua were impressive and need to build consistency around these performance. The Titans had bright moments in attack and were resilient in defence all night long. This was the type of resilient performance the founding players prided themselves on and where they will need to start in order to build the club into a stronger force.
GARETH WIDDOP DEPARTS
After an injury plagued season, English international Gareth Widdop has played his final NRL game. Gareth will take up a two-year deal with Warrington Wolves, departing the NRL after 197 games with Melbourne and St George. His greatest moment coming in 2012 when he was part of the premiership winning Melbourne Storm side. Gareth should have crossed in the first half but responded with a few big effort plays in the second half including a try saving cover tackle, a few line break assists, and racking up 1000 career points by fulltime.
JEREMY LATIMORE RETIRES
After 11 seasons and five different clubs – including two stints at St George Illawarra Dragons – journeyman Jeremy Latimore draws the curtain on his 182-first grade career. The front rower has spent the last two season coming off the bench and entered the encounter after 30 minutes. His injection into the game came at the same time as Korbin Sims and Luciano Leilua when the Dragons started gaining momentum.
THE RESULT
Gold Coast Titans 16
Tries:ย Jai Arrow, Mitch Rein, Phillip Sami
Goals: Michael Gordon 2/3
St George Illawarra Dragons 24
Tries: Jonus Pearson, Corey Norman, Ben Hunt 2
Goals: Gareth Widdop 4/4
SQUADS
Gold Coast Titans: 1. Michael Gordon 2. Jesse Arthars 3. Tyrone Peachey 4. Brian Kelly 5. Phillip Sami 6. Alexander Brimson 14. Tanah Boyd 8. Jarrod Wallace 9. Mitch Rein 10. Jai Arrow 11. Kevin Proctor 12. Sam Stone 13. Nathan Peats 7. Ryley Jacks 15. Jai Whitbread 16. Bryce Cartwright 17. Jack Stockwellย
St George Illawarra Dragons: 1. Corey Norman 2. Tristan Sailor 3. Euan Aitken 4. Timoteo Lafai 5. Jonus Pearson 6. Gareth Widdop 7. Ben Hunt 8. James Graham 9. Reece Robson 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Jackson Ford 13. Blake Lawrie 14. Jeremy Latimore 15. Korbin Sims 16. Luciano Leilua 17. Josh Kerrย
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