ROUND SEVEN MATCH REPORT | Brisbane Broncos 12-30 Gold Coast Titans

Brendan Wood reviews the Gold Coast Titans convincing 30-12 win over the struggling Brisbane Broncos. Here’s how the game went:

MATCH TIMELINE

MATCH SUMMARY

1st Half

Titans halfback Ash Taylor opened the scoring early when he caught the Broncos napping down the short side. On the fifth tackle of an attacking set, he took on the defence from dummy-half and reached out to score. They were able to restrict the attacking opportunities of the Broncos in the next ten minutes to hold their lead comfortably. Off the back of this, Anthony Don extended the Titans’ lead when he beat the sliding Broncos defence to score in the corner.

Embed from Getty Images

When the Broncos eventually did get some good chances, they struggled to execute. They also lost their captain’s challenge when they challenged a knock-on close to the Titans line and were unsuccessful. To heap more frustration on the Broncos, the Titans scored again when Broncos fullback Tesi Niu couldn’t catch an Ash Taylor bomb. Tyrone Peachey regathered and passed to Sam Lisone to score under the posts.

In the shadows of halftime, Moeaki Fotuaika was sin binned for a professional foul to give the Broncos the man advantage. Despite this, the Broncos couldn’t capitalise. Instead, Anthony Don intercepted a cut-out pass and raced away to score right on the halftime siren, pushing the lead out to 22-0 at the break.

Embed from Getty Images

2nd Half

The Broncos came out of the sheds with plenty of positive energy. After several six again calls against the Titans, Ben Te’o crashed through some tiring defence close to the line to get the Broncos on the scoreboard. Not long after this the Titans were awarded a penalty for an illegal strip. They opted to take the two points to extend their lead to 24-6. But the Broncos rebounded quickly. At the end of an attacking set, Brodie Croft grubbered into the in-goal for Herbie Farnworth to dive on the loose ball.

Embed from Getty Images

With the lead narrowed to 12 points, the Titans were again awarded a penalty in an attacking position, and again opted for the two points to extend the lead beyond two converted tries. The scores stayed at that margin for a while as the Broncos tried to crack the Titans again, but in the end they unable to. In a play that summed up the Broncos night, Corey Oates was sin binned for verbal dissent against the referee while in possession of the football. As a direct result, Phillip Sami rubbed salt into the Broncos’ wounds scoring in the corner, sealing an impressive 30-12 win for the Titans.

Embed from Getty Images

GAME HIGHLIGHT

While there were minimal highlights to speak of in this game, the way the Titans started played a huge role in the eventual outcome of the game. Ash Taylor’s performance was the standout. His try in the early stages really got the Titans off to quick start and set the tone for the first half. He was involved in their second try when he put up a towering bomb Tesi Niu was unable to catch. His direction and measured kicking game in attack was key to building pressure on the Broncos, forcing plenty of line drop-outs. It’s also one of the few games in recent memory the Titans have managed to keep a team to nil in the first half and go on to record a convincing win.

Embed from Getty Images

SQUADS

Broncos: 1. Tesi Niu 2. Corey Oates 3. Herbie Farnworth 4. Darius Boyd 5. Xavier Coates 6. Anthony Milford 7. Brodie Croft 8. Matthew Lodge 9. Issac Luke 10. Payne Haas 11. Alex Glenn 12. Tevita Pangai Junior 13. Joe Ofahengaue Bench: 14. Jamayne Isaako 16. Rhys Kennedy 17. Ben Te’o 18. Tom Dearden.

Titans: 1. Corey Thompson 2. Anthony Don 3. Brian Kelly 4. Dale Copley 5. Phillip Sami 6. Ashley Taylor 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Moeaki Fotuaika 9. Mitch Rein 16. Jaimin Jolliffe 11. Kevin Proctor 12. Keegan Hipgrave 13. Jai Arrow Bench: 10. Sam Lisone 14. Tanah Boyd 15. Tyrone Peachey 17. Jarrod Wallace