Hayne redemption keeps Titans alive
tries and setting up another in a 10-minute period in the second half.
In one of the ugliest Friday night games in memory, the Titans did what they had to to arrest their four-game losing streak.
The Gold Coast allowed just one try in the second half in what was a scrappy and unattractive game of football.
But their sole mission was to win and the Titans got the job done, scoring five tries, including doubles to Hayne and Konrad Hurrell.
The Titans had all three Origin players backing up and all were outstanding. Nathan Peats topped the tackle count, making 50 in a massive effort just 48 hours after Origin, while Jarrod Wallace had 18 hit-ups for 157m and 25 tackles after making his Maroons debut.
Hayne scored a try in the Blues’ Origin loss on Wednesday but had an unhappy outing overall, making several errors as Queensland sent the series to a decider.
There was plenty of interest in how he would back up last night and Hayne proved himself to be the gamebreaker in the second half.
The Titans took a 10-8 lead to halftime and increased their lead when Hurrell scored his second try off a pass from Hayne.
The Tigers’ Malakai Watene-Zelezniak looked to have scored shortly after but he was ruled to be offside when picking up the ball from a one-on-one strip.
Enter Hayne, who chimed into the backline to score a double in four minutes midway through the second half to put the result beyond doubt.
The Titans need to win seven of their final nine games to make the eight – a big ask but one that would have been impossible had they not won last night.
Jamal Fogarty made his NRL debut after Tyrone Roberts failed to recover from a shoulder injury but the playmaking duties fell squarely on Ashley Taylor’s shoulders, with the debutant given little responsibility.
Fogarty had a relatively unhappy night, finishing with just one run for 5m and making an error as he kicked into the defence with the Titans losing possession on the final tackle.