Newcastle Knights break drought over depleted Gold Coast Titans

THE Titans’ NRL season yesterday lurched toward crisis point after only two rounds when they lost star fullback Jarryd Hayne and suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of last year’s wooden spooners.

Jarryd Hayne leaves the ground. Picture: Getty Images

THE Titans’ NRL season yesterday lurched toward crisis point after only two rounds when they lost star fullback Jarryd Hayne and suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of last year’s wooden spooners.

Newcastle scored their first win in 336 days, overcoming a depleted Gold Coast 34-26 at McDonald Jones Stadium.

The Titans have lost both games to start the season and face a mounting injury list.

With hooker Nathan Peats (shoulder) and English signing Dan Sarginson (knee) already on the sideline, the Titans were hit hard yesterday with Hayne, Anthony Don (shoulder) and Karl Lawton (shoulder) joining the casualty ward.

A week in which the club’s internal issues were made public just kept getting worse for the Titans.

Coach Neil Henry conceded that all three of the fresh injuries were serious and he did not expect any of the trio to take the field against visitors Parramatta on Friday night.

Jarryd Hayne limps from the ground after copping an injury early in the match. Picture: Getty Images

Hayne’s omission will be tough to deal with, as the stage was set for a mouth-watering clash against his old side.

While the exact prognosis on Hayne’s ankle is not yet known, Henry said he could be out for several weeks.

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“You could safely say none of those three will play next week (and) it could be a lot longer,” he said. “The medical teams had a look but we’ll know more in a day or two.

“Jarryd’s hurt his ankle quite badly. There’s a lot of swelling there at the moment.

“It’s frustrating for everyone concerned, particularly him.

“We really lost some key personnel and it made it hard when we had second-rowers playing in the centres.

‘‘Ryan James had 80 minutes in the front-row.

“But in the end, we weren’t good enough.’’

Titan Tyrone Roberts is wrapped up by the Knights defence yesterday. Picture: Getty Images

Hayne’s injury came from a collision with Trent Hodkinson and fullback Brendan Elliot in the 27th minute, with his leg getting stuck under the duo as he chased an Ash Taylor kick.

Don and Lawton are both believed to have suffered dislocated shoulders.

Co-captain James said that while he hoped William Zillman (calf), Daniel Vidot (groin) and Ryan Simpkins (rib) would be back for Friday’s game, it was concerning to see his side struggle.

“There’s no excuses,” he said. “It’s hard when you have no fullback to attack with and it’s pretty hard playing without a genuine No.9. Karl Lawton was good at that but unfortunately he hurt his shoulder.

“They’re the games where you have to stand up and if you get those wins, you build a season off it, but it went the other way.

“It’s a little bit concerning.”

Originally published as Newcastle Knights break drought over depleted Gold Coast Titans