NRL 2020: Gold Coast Titans lose to Canberra Raiders

The Titans have made a rough start to the season as they battled to contain the Raiders in their Round 1 clash, with Ash Taylor struggling in his return.

ASH Taylor made an unconvincing return to the NRL as new coach Justin Holbrook tasted defeat in his first game in charge of the Gold Coast Titans.

Holbrook’s debut as an NRL coach followed a dramatic day across the country where the coronavirus crisis threatened to shut fans out of GIO Stadium in Canberra.

The match went ahead as scheduled and it was the Raiders who responded best, racking up a 24-6 win after bouncing out to an 18-0 lead.

Raiders star Jack Wighton continued the form that saw him crowned last year’s Clive Churchill Medal winner in Canberra’s grand final loss and terrorised Taylor in a first half blitz.

Mitch Rein of the Titans (left) tackles Dunamis Luises of the Raiders. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Wighton scored two tries to help Canberra open up an 18-point lead within 30 minutes, with both tries coming on the back of missed tackles from Taylor.

Taylor sat out half of last season for personal reasons and the Gold Coast’s $1 million halfback was slow to get going, suffering a shoulder injury to compound his poor performance.

Taylor seemed to find his feet as the match wore on, with the Gold Coast fighting back in the second half, but he is a way off the form needed to be a dominant NRL halfback.

A worrying sign for Holbrook in his first season as an NRL coach was the ease at which the Gold Coast’s right-side defence was picked apart.

The combination of Taylor and back-rower Bryce Cartwright is a recipe for a defensive disaster and the Raiders exposed it beautifully through Wighton and later Elliott Whitehead.

In their final pre-season trial, the Titans allowed Brisbane to open up a 16-0 lead before fighting back to win, but you can’t afford to do that against quality NRL teams.

Jack Wighton of the Raiders celebrates after scoring a try. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Wighton had a double with 14 minutes before Emre Guler barged over some poor tryline defence to give Canberra a healthy halftime buffer, with the Titans missing 22 tackles in the first half.

The Titans emerged from the break with more energy and veteran winger Anthony Don got them on the scoreboard in the 45th minute.

The next 20 minutes was a grinding affair, with Titans fullback Phillip Sami impressing along with Tyrone Peachey and Jai Arrow to keep the Gold Coast alive.

But Canberra snuffed out any hope of a Gold Coast comeback when Whitehead crashed past Cartwright to give the Raiders a Round 1 victory.

The Titans have a horror opening six rounds of the season, facing top eight teams from 2019 every week, and Holbrook has a task on his hands to keep the reigning wooden spooners in the hunt.

They will face Parramatta at an empty Cbus Super Stadium on Sunday week in line with the NRL’s indefinite spectator ban and need a win to kickstart their season.

Tyrone Peachey on the run. Picture: Mark Nolan/Getty Images

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

TAYLOR SLOW OUT OF THE BLOCKS

Titans halfback Ash Taylor made a less than impressive return to the NRL. After sitting out a chunk of last season for personal reasons, Taylor missed Raiders five-eighth Jack Wighton with two poor defensive efforts that led to tries and regularly passed the ball to Bryce Cartwright on the last tackle instead of kicking. He got better as the game wore on but is a long way from the form needed to be a dominant NRL halfback.

WIGHTON ON FIRE IN 2020

Raiders star Jack Wighton is on track for another sensational season. Wighton was the Clive Churchill Medal winner in last year’s grand final loss to the Roosters and he was in top touch against the Titans. Wighton scored two tries and kicked a 40-20 to prove he will be one of the stars of 2020.

ARROW STILL COMMITTED TO TITANS

Jai Arrow may be bound for South Sydney but he was one of the Titans’ best. Arrow charged for 64m and made 24 tackles in the first half, the most of any Gold Coast player in both categories. He was the only Titans forward to make more than 100m for the game (104m).

PEACHEY NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED

Titans coach Justin Holbrook has to find a way to get Tyrone Peachey more involved. Peachey is in good form but he was lost in the centres. When he moved into the forward pack in the second half the Titans came to life. “He can’t play in the centres, he’s got to be in the middle,” said Fox League commentator Michael Ennis. “He’s been dynamic since he went there, they’ve been a different footy team.”

REFEREES WINNING CHALLENGE WAR

The NRL’s referees are so far winning the Captain’s Challenge battle. The first three teams to use the decision challenging system this year have failed miserably. The captains have gone off too early and listened to desperate forwards who have made errors.