Gold Coast Titans jump into NRL top eight
Gold Coast have jumped into the NRL top eight after beating Canterbury 28-14 in a thriller on Sunday at cBus Super Stadium.
After a first-half arm wrestle, the Titans dazzled their home crowd of 10,645 with a stretch of three unanswered tries to run away with the game to book their second straight win.
Canberra-bound pivot Aidan Sezer had a huge hand in the result, continuing what must feel like an excruciating farewell season on the tourist strip for Titans fans.
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Not only did he kickstart their surge with a brilliant 40-20 just before the half-time buzzer that resulted in a try to Kevin Gordon, he helped set up their next four-pointer and converted four of five attempts in a tireless performance.
Boom youngster James Roberts also celebrated his two-year contract extension with the Titans by scoring two tries to take him to 13 for the season.
But the win came at a cost for the Titans, with their shortage of hookers exacerbated by a medial ligament injury to Kierran Moseley.
With fellow rakes Beau Falloon (wrist) and Matt Srama (ankle) already sidelined, Moseley was the player that the Titans could most ill afford to lose.
The Bulldogs were 10-4 up at one stage after Sam Kasiano rode an offload from Tim Brown to go over just before the half-hour mark.
Canterbury’s Corey Thompson had a night to forget, with his two glaring errors under the high ball in the 40th and 59th minutes both punished by tries to Gordon and Josh Hoffman.
The visitors attempted a late comeback with Curtis Rona crossing for his second of the afternoon but it was quickly snuffed out, as Roberts responded in kind and then came off the field to a warm round of applause.
Rona still leads the NRL’s tryscoring charts but Roberts’ double brings him to within striking distance.
– AAP