Titans v Dragons: Five things we learned

THE Dragons ran riot against the Gold Coast, leaving Garth Brennan with plenty to think about — here’s five things we learned from the Toowoomba thumping.

Dragons halfback Ben Hunt breaks through the Titans defence at Clive Berghofer Stadium in Toowoomba,

THE Dragons ran riot against the Gold Coast, leaving Garth Brennan with plenty to think about — here’s five things we learned from the Toowoomba thumping.

1. Gold Coast coach Garth Brennan is facing the first genuine test of his NRL career. The Titans lacked effort on Sunday, something Brennan promised they wouldn’t under his leadership, and must bounce back against the Broncos on Easter Sunday. The problem is the Titans have historically struggled against “big brother” Brisbane.

MATCH REPORT: Dragons flex title muscle with thumping win

2. You know the Titans were having a bad day when the affable Konrad Hurrell fired up. In his 100th NRL match, Hurrell took offence to being pushed into a fence by Dragons forward Tariq Sims and retaliated. Unfortunately for Hurrell it was Sims that had the last laugh, forcing two errors with crunching tackles.

Konrad Hurrell goes head to head with Tariq Sims and the Dragons.

3. Titans forward Bryce Cartwright looks like a confused player. Brennan has opted to play Cartwright in the demanding position of lock and the Penrith recruit has looked uneasy in attack and defence. With Kane Elgey struggling at five-eighth there must be a temptation to shift Cartwright out of the furnace.

4, Ash Taylor is still too young and inexperienced to be the Gold Coast’s saviour. In his 49th NRL appearance and in front of a home crowd, Taylor made some crucial errors and was placed on report for tripping. He still has a lot to learn and the Titans will have to ride the rollercoaster with him.

5. The Dragons are a team with multiple gears and deserve to be unbeaten after three rounds. St George-Illawarra was slow out of the blocks, but when they kicked into gear they looked unstoppable. Ben Hunt and Gareth Widdop are forming an excellent playmaking combination.