5 things we learned from the Warriors 27-18 win over the Titans

SHAUN Johnson starred and a gruesome injury struck the Titans. Here’s five things we learned from the Gold Coast’s 27-18 loss.

Paasi has been great for the Titans all season.

SHAUN Johnson starred and a gruesome injury struck the Titans. Here’s five things we learned from the Gold Coast’s 27-18 loss.

1 — DESPITE the final result, the Titans’ forwards can walk away with their heads held high after an outstanding effort.

The Gold Coast ran for 779m to New Zealand’s 611m in the first half. In that time, Agnatius Paasi alone made 11 runs — the most of any player — for 102m.

The most metres any Warriors forward made in the first stanza was 44m from Ben Matulino.

In comparison, Luke Douglas made 53m, Zeb Taia ran for 71m and Greg Bird made 57m.

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2 — IN last week’s 30-22 loss to Canberra, the Gold Coast suffered greatly from poor possession and discipline.

They turned that around in a big way against the Warriors. In the first half, the Titans had 62 per cent possession and completed 16 of 20 sets.

While they still had five handling errors they conceded just one penalty. In the first forty last week they gave away six penalties.

All they need to do now is turn this discipline into an 80 minute effort.

3 — QUEENSLAND’S south east teams appear to be battling a backs curse.

On Friday the Broncos added winger Corey Oates (concussion) to a casualty ward that already has Jordan Kahu, Jack Reed, Tom Opacic and Greg Eden.

The Titans followed suit after debutant Karl Lawton left the field with a suspected broken ankle. He joins David Mead, Konrad Hurrell, William Zillman and Nathan Davis on the sidelines.

Poor Karl Lawton suffered an awful ankle injury on debut.

4 — WHILE the game did not end well for Titans debutant Karl Lawton, Warriors newcomer Bunty Afoa made a big impact in his first NRL game, particularly in defence.

While he was a bit quiet in attack, the 19-year-old was not going to let any Titan past him.

He made his presence known late in the first half with a bone-rattler on Nathaniel Peteru and continued that strong form, ending the game without missing a single tackle.

5 — SHAUN Johnson could prove to be a real hero for the Warriors as they heat up their campaign for a place in the top eight.

The star playmaker always turns out for his side, but his performance was made even more sensational by the fact he is battling a quad injury.

You would not have guessed it by the way he played. The rest of the competition better beware of what other tricks he has up his sleeve.

Originally published as 5 things we learned from the Warriors 27-18 win over the Titans