An under-manned Gold Coast Titans Gold Training under-20s’ three-match winning streak ended with a 48-10 loss to the Brisbane Broncos at Cbus Super Stadium tonight.
The young Titans were on the back foot early in the contest after losing star second-rower Morgan Boyle to a rib injury in just the tenth minute. Despite being down to 16 men, the Titans put in a solid first 40 minutes and went into the half-time break trailing 14-6.
But the Broncos put together a dominant second stanza scoring six second-half tries with halfback Will Brimson and centre Gehamat Shibasaki both grabbing doubles as the away-side took the 48-10 win.
The Broncos took an early 10-0 lead after 12 minutes with forward Keegan Hipgrave and dummy-half Kalolo Saitua scoring back-to-back tries.
But the Titans hit-back in the 16th minute when utility Ethan Roberts crossed the line before Tyronne Roberts-Davis converted to reel the deficit back to 10-6.
The Broncos extended their lead in the 32nd minute with Shibasaki crossing to give the away-side a 14-6 half-time lead.
The Titans second-half started with a mountain of possession and they took full advantage in the 54th minute with centre Brian Kelly charging on to a brilliant Tye Barry short-ball before reaching out to plant the ball down and reduce the deficit back to 14-10.
But some poor handling and discipline gifted the Broncos prime attacking position and they capitalised when crafty halfback Brimson sliced through a hole in the defence to extend his side’s lead out to 18-10 with 20 minutes remaining.
The Broncos extended their lead in the following set with utility hooker Tristan Hope finding his way through some scrappy Titans defence to score under the posts to give Haydyn O’Hara an easy conversion to give the Broncos a 24-10 lead.
The Broncos continued their dominance late in the second half with Jaydn Sua crossing and Shibasaki grabbing his second of the night to take the young Broncos out to a convincing 36-10 lead going into the final ten minutes.
The Broncos ensured for an entertaining final eight minutes with Brimson grabbing his second try after a 40 metre break and fullback Corey Allan finishing a length of the field play after the full-time siren to give the away-side the 48-10 victory.
The Titans will look to hit-back next week when they take on the Cronulla Sharks.
Brisbane Broncos 48 (G Shibasaki 2, W Brimson 2, K Hippgrave, K Saitua, T Hope, J Sua, C Allen tries; H O’Hara 6 goals) defeated Gold Coast Titans 10 (E Roberts, B Kelly tries; T Roberts-Davis goal)