Jordan Rapana destroys the Titans as Raiders cruise to 42-16 victory

FORMER Titans Jordan Rapana has come back to haunt the Gold Coast as the Raiders cruised to a 42-16 win.

NRL Titans v Raiders at Cbus Super Stadium. Canberra Raiders Jordan Rapana scores a try. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

THE Titans’ season is on the brink of implosion after ex-Gold Coaster Jordan Rapana returned to haunt his former club in Canberra’s 42-16 rout at Cbus Super Stadium.

With $4 million of playing talent in the casualty ward, the hapless Titans were cannon fodder as Rapana ran riot, posting a hat-trick in the Raiders’ eight-try rampage.

ANALYSIS: Five things we learned from the match

Rapana launched his NRL as an 18-year-old with the Titans in 2008 before dropping a bombshell on the club, quitting to embark on a two-year Mormon mission.

Titans coach Neil Henry must have wished Rapana had stuck to spreading the gospel instead of returning to Robina to play God as he tormented Gold Coast’s outside backs.

The Raiders were dominant from the word go.

The 100kg flyer posted his hat-trick inside 25 minutes to help the Raiders to a 26-10 half-time lead. Rapana finished with 258 metres, five line breaks and a staggering 16 tackle busts as the Green Machine consigned the Titans to their third straight loss.

While Rapana and Canberra’s Maroons monster Josh Papalii were superb, the depleted Titans were belted in midfield and will need divine intervention to save their season.

With 11 injured players, including Jarryd Hayne, Gold Coast have slumped to 1-5 and now face a daunting road trip against the Broncos this Friday night.

Rated a top-six chance in pre-season, the Titans are in danger of finishing last, but Henry insists the Coast can salvage their season.

“Teams have been 1-5 and won 15 in a row,” he said. “The challenge is to get some wins and we aren’t doing that at the moment.

The Titans just couldn’t get anything going.

“But we’re making no excuses. Some of our defence was pretty ordinary. There were arms in tackles, not bodies in tackles.

“How we react is important, we have a short turnaround for the Broncos so we need to move on.”

The Titans’ injury crisis continued last night with starting back-rowers Kevin Proctor (hamstring) and Chris McQueen (back) both late scratchings.

POACH: Broncos enter chase for Bird

LOCKYER: Contract farce must end

By full-time, there was another battered body, utility Tyrone Roberts suffering a broken toe that will rule him out of the Broncos clash.

“It has been a horror run,” Henry said. “The pressure mounts again ... we need the senior guys to step up and lift the younger guys as well.”

Gold Coast have so many flaws at the moment that trying to identify the most pressing problem would be akin to plugging holes to save the sinking Titanic.

The Raiders scored five tries in the first half alone.

The Titans need to address their woeful starts. They continue to let rivals bolt out of the blocks and the rampant Raiders pounced, Rapana scoring twice in the opening 12 minutes for an 8-0 lead.

It was a night to forget for halfback Ashley Taylor. When he lost the ball in a tackle on his tryline in the 24th minute, Canberra ruthlessly punished him, swinging the ball out wide for Rapana to celebrate his hat-trick.

“Rapana has been in great form, so has BJ Leilua, but we allowed them to be handful,” Henry lamented.