TITANS LEFT SHATTERED AFTER LOSING THRILLER TO ROOSTERS
ROOKIE sensation Sam Walker brought the Gold Coast’s finals fairytale to a heartbreaking end as the Roosters ended the Titans’ season in a Townsville thriller.
Walker kicked the winning field goal against the Titans for the second time this year to knock the Gold Coast out of the finals with a 25-24 victory at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Saturday night.
In one of the most gripping finals in NRL history, the Titans bombed victory when centre Patrick Herbert opted to run the ball in the dying seconds instead of passing to an open David Fifita or Corey Thompson for a certain try in the right-hand corner.
The missed opportunity proved decisive as the Roosters progressed to the second week of the playoffs and the Titans were left wondering what could have been in their first finals appearance since 2016.
It looked like the Roosters would comfortably progress to week two after James Tedesco and Victor Radley helped Sydney to an 18-6 lead early in the second half.
But the gutsy Titans refused to go away against the star-studded Roosters and should have claimed an upset victory with the last play of the game.
Instead, it was Walker’s 22m field goal in the 78th minute that proved the difference after the rookie halfback spent most of the game on the bench.
The Titans have great young forwards in Fifita, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Moeaki Fotuaika and plenty of strike in the backline but they’re lacking a star in the spine.