JT WINS GC OVER
LEGEND LIGHTS IT UP ON, OFF FIELD
THE Titans and Gold Coast community alike got a taste of how good a spectacle the NRL can be at Cbus Super Stadium as champion Queenslander Johnathan Thurston bowed out in style.
There was a buzz unlike any felt in years at the stadium as fans flocked to watch Thurston’s final 80 minutes of footy.
“I can’t believe how many people are here,” one ticketholder was overheard saying pre-match. “Haven’t seen this many people here for … ahh, a while,” another smiled.
The Round 25 match against the Cowboys felt exactly how every game ideally should: Filled with anticipation, excitement, and lots and lots of people.
“It was awesome. It was like playing a final,” said Titans second-rower Kevin Proctor, who played in two NRL deciders while at the Storm.
Although the fixture was a sellout, it wasn’t quite a full house with some members not taking their allocated seats to see the 30-26 score in the Cowboys’ favour. The final crowd figure came in at 26,681 people.
The exciting thing is that this proves there is potential, an appetite, for the Titans to tap into and build towards becoming a regular occurrence.
If the club can continue to be respectable off the field and competitive on it, this is the dream goal: An engaged supporter base week in, week out.
“If we can be a top eight team and in contention throughout the whole season, we’ll see a lot more crowds like that,” departing Titans boss Graham Annesley declared.
It’s not every day you get to play host to the swansong of one of the game’s greatest ever players, though.
The occasion brought some warm moments, such as when the crowd rose to its feet for a standing ovation in the seventh minute as a tribute to the game’s greatest No.7. Postgame, there was not the usual rush to the exits as people awaited a Thurston lap of honour and speech.
There were some odd moments too, such as when Titans marquee man Ash Taylor was booed on home soil as he lined up a penalty goal attempt.
The night fittingly belonged wholly and solely to Thurston – but it should serve as a promising reminder for the type of spectacle that is within reach for league on the Gold Coast.