INJURY-HIT TITANS PILE PRESSURE ON KNIGHTS
PRESSURE is mounting on besieged Newcastle NRL coach Nathan Brown with an injury-hit Gold Coast downing an error-riddled Knights 38-14.
Brown had reportedly been on notice at the Knights due to their underwhelming season start but appears on borrowed time after Newcastle’s fifth-straight loss and 10th in 12 games.
The omens didn’t appear good at first for the Titans, losing back-rower Kevin Proctor (hip/quad) before the kick-off and skipper Ryan James (knee) by the 12th minute.
But the Knights were their own worst enemies with a butterfingered first-half display before threatening a late comeback.
The Titans raced to a 28-0 lead before the visitors finally managed to get on the board via centre Hymel Hunt in the 55th minute.
The Knights scored another two tries in four minutes when back-rower Mitch Barnett caught Gold Coast fullback Michael Gordon napping to pounce on a grubber and star fullback Kalyn Ponga sliced through in the 66th minute to make it 28-14.
But in the end, Newcastle were made to pay for their many handling mistakes.
Newcastle’s error-fest helped Gold Coast to grab a 22-0 half-time lead with two tries scored directly off Knights knock-ons, but whatever Brown said at the break appeared to fall on deaf ears.
Knights halfback Mitchell Pearce lost the ball when he looked to score under the posts in the 46th minute before Gold Coast pounced on an Edrick Lee error to score three minutes later and blow the scoreline out to 28-0.