Titans’ finals hopes take another hit after 34-12 loss to Warriors

NOT even Jarryd Hayne could save the Titans as the dreams of back-to-back finals appearances took a blow in a 34-12 embarrassment to the Warriors.

The Titans’ hopes of reaching the finals again have taken a hit.

NOT even Jarryd Hayne could save the Titans as the Gold Coast’s dreams of back-to-back finals appearances took another blow in a 34-12 embarrassment to the Warriors.

Titans coach Neil Henry denied the Warriors were the Gold Coast’s bogey side before the game but there is no doubt now.

The 22-point win was New Zealand’s first on the road since the corresponding clash in round 22 last year and the Warriors’ 13th victory in their past 14 matches against the Titans.

The result kept the Warriors’ finals hopes alive, even though they lost star five-eighth Kieran Foran (corked thigh), but put a serious dent in the Gold Coast’s dreams of consecutive playoff appearances.

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The Titans’ hopes of reaching the finals again have taken a hit.

Not that the Titans would be a threat in September anyway with the rubbish they dished up on a momentous day for the club.

Club legends Scott Prince, Preston Campbell and Luke Bailey were among the 14,067 at Cbus Super Stadium as the Titans named their team of the decade.

And they would have been horrified with the defensive effort they saw when the Titans conceded three tries in seven minutes to trail 24-4 at halftime.

“We didn’t really give ourselves a chance,” Henry said.

“We didn’t defend errors or penalties. They mounted pressure on us and we didn’t handle that.

“It was a very important game for us and we weren’t willing to get into a bit of a grind.

“I thought we had some effort atd times but when you’re not getting your choices right you’re going to be chasing points all night.

“It was a bit of a flat performance given we needed to win. It’s very disappointing

“We need to find a way to play to our potential.”

To make matter worse the Titans lost Kane Elgey (sternum), Karl Lawton (shoulder) and Konrad Hurrell (ankle) late in the game.

Konrad Hurrell injured his ankle in the Titans’ loss to the Warriors.

Elgey went to the top of the Titans’ try-scoring list with his seventh for the season in the opening five minutes but the Gold Coast’s joy was short-lived when Warriors backrower Ryan Hoffman sliced through with ease in his 300th NRL match.

Blake Ayshford went through untouched before the Warriors went back to the targeting the Gold Coast’s weak right side defence, this time winger Ken Maumalo going over unchallenged.

Warriors fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck rounded out the seven-minute rout to give New Zealand a commanding 24-4 lead at the break.

Ryan Hoffman scored a try in his 300th match.

Hayne took it upon himself to get the Titans back into the game, fooling the Warriors with a dummy to score early in the second half and give the Gold Coast a sniff.

The Titans struggled to hold the ball in greasy conditions and looked disjointed in attack as Nathan Peats moved out of dummy-half and Hayne bizarrely shifted centre to allow William Zillman to go to fullback.

The Titans could be languishing in the bottom four by the end of the round and facing a long road back to prove their drought-breaking finals appearance last year was not just a blip on the radar.

NZ WARRIORS 34 (B Ayshford 2 A Hingano R Hoffman K Maumalo R Tuivasa-Sheck tries I Luke 4 R Hoffman goals) bt GOLD COAST 12 (D Copley K Elgey J Hayne tries) at Cbus Super Stadium. Referee: Chris Sutton, David Munro. Crowd: 14,067