Titans defeat the Dragons 20-10: Five things we learned

JARRYD Hayne’s display was reminiscent of his 2009 Dally M heroics — here are the five things we learned from the Titans’ win over the Dragons.

: Jarryd Hayne was instrumental for the Titans.

THE Titans have won back-to-back games after beating the Dragons 20-10 at Cbus Super Stadium.

Here are the five things we learned:

1. Jarryd Hayne is safe for Origin III. Broncos coach Wayne Bennett lashed Hayne’s Origin II performance but his display for the Titans was reminiscent of his 2009 Dally M heroics. Hayne ran for 162 metres and set-up two tries with sublime passes to seal his NSW No. 3 jumper for the Origin decider. If he maintains this type of form, Hayne can be the game-breaking X-factor the Titans have been craving.

MATCH REPORT: Dugan injured as Hayne shine for Titans

2. The Maroons’ injury crisis is rubbing off on their Origin rivals. The Blues have their own headaches entering Origin III, with Dragons and NSW pair Tyson Frizell and Josh Dugan leaving the field last night. Frizell, who carried a rib ailment into Origin II, departed in the 45th minute with a fresh back injury, while Dugan hobbled off seven minutes later with a corked leg. If Dugan is ruled out, Broncos ace James Roberts will rocket into contention for his NSW Origin debut.

3. Anthony Don is the best value player in the NRL — bar none. The humble Don was maligned for several years but in an age of $1 million NRL stars, the rangy winger is superb value under the salary cap at $175,000. His hat-trick on Friday night has seen Don score 32 tries from his past 50 games for the Titans.

4. The Titans’ most successful halves pairing in recent memory could be broken once again. Friday night’s victory gave Ashley Taylor and Tyrone Roberts 11 wins and a draw from 20 matches together, only for Roberts to hobble off five minutes from full-time. Kane Elgey (sternum) is due to return in coming weeks, but in a perfect world, Titans coach Neil Henry should stick with the Taylor-Roberts alliance.

Tyrone Roberts is taken from the field injured against the Dragons.

5. Gold Coast’s ruck defence was magnificent. There have been times this season when the Titans have been carved up in midfield but the likes of Jarrod Wallace, Nathan Peats and Ryan James were inspirational as they choked the Dragons into submission. The visitors’ only try came on the flanks via Kurt Mann.

Originally published as Titans defeat the Dragons 20-10: Five things we learned