Beau Fermor wasted little time in showing Titans coach Justin Holbrook he is ready for the NRL with a starring role for the Gold Coast in their 11-a-side scrimmage match against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.
A sensational individual try to young halfback Toby Sexton in the last minute of the game saw the Titans escape with a 16-all draw against the Broncos but, truth be told, the Titans played the better of the football for the majority of the 40-minute match.
With the Intrust Super Cup suspended this season due to COVID-19, the scrimmage match was organised to get some match fitness into the NRL squad players who have been left out of their team’s top 17.
It was also the opportunity for those players on the fringe of selection to show their wares, and a number of Titans did not waste the opportunity to shine.
Fermor though was a standout in his first game - albeit with reduced team sizes, reduced match time and a reduced field of play – for the Titans, scoring a try and looking threatening every time he went near the ball in attack and defence.
It was Fermor’s first game since a knee reconstruction last year, and his first match for the Titans since joining the Club from the Newcastle Knights.
It is easy to see why the Knights were reluctant to let the former Queensland Under-20s player go, with a real quality display.
Fermor hit the line with vigour, and produced some great offloads after contact, making him a more than viable left-edge weapon for Holbrook in the weeks ahead.
Winger Greg Leleisiuao was another to impress, with a number of powerful runs and a reluctance to be tackled making him a handful.
Jai Whitbread was sensational in the middle as the Titans’ only true “big man”, getting through a mountain of work and heavy contact in the middle, while Sam Stone, Treymain Spry, Ioane Seiuli and Sexton were others to thrive with the hit-out.
The Titans scored first through Stone after 10 minutes, but a lack of discipline gifted the Broncos the field position and possession they needed to lead 8-4 at the break – a lead which blew out further just one minute after the restart as more Titans errors saw them fall 12-4 behind.
But the match was organised to blow out some rust, and it did the trick – with the Titans finding their rhythm in the second half.
But Fermor dragged his team back into the contest three minutes into the second half, running a nice line and bursting through the Broncos defence with a 15-metre gallop to the in-goal.
Four minutes later the Titans were in again, this time with Stone producing a great run up the middle, and then finding Sexton with a slick offload in traffic to keep the movement rolling.
Sexton played his role beautifully, delivering a nice offload of his own to a flying Spry to even things up again at 12-all.
The Broncos scored an opportunistic try in the 13th minute of the half to sneak clear again, but with the clock winding down, great vision from Sexton on the right edge gave the Titans the sniff they needed.
With three-on-two looming, Sexton sized up the situation perfectly, producing a show-and-go to split the Broncos defenders and crash over – levelling the scores at 16-all.
TITANS 16 (Sam Stone, Beau Fermor, Treymain Spry tries) drew with BRONCOS 16. No conversions taken.
