Any team would be in the wars losing both their fullback and chief playmaker in the space of a minute, but despite the situation the Titans dug deep and fought to remain in the epic Queensland derby against the Cowboys.
Whilst not coming away with the two points in Townsville, there was much to like about the Gold Coast's performance; including the grit, determination and courage to not give up despite the adversity of losing both AJ Brimson and Kieran Foran just after the 20-minute mark.
Led by yet another inspirational outing from skipper Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, the young squad remained in the grind until the very end, with plenty to extract from the encounter as they now recuperate during next weekend's bye before returning home on Easter Sunday to face the Dragons in Round 6.
Here are the key three talking points from the match against the Cowboys:
Match: Cowboys v Titans
Round 4 -
home Team
Cowboys
12th Position
away Team
Titans
10th Position
Venue: Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
1. The courage and character shown
Losing any senior player makes the task even more tougher but imagine having two key linchpins go down in the space of a minute...
That was the situation the Titans were faced with for 60 minutes when Kieran Foran left the field in the 23rd minute, shortly followed by AJ Brimson a minute later, forcing Jayden Campbell to return to fullback and Erin Clark joining Tanah Boyd in the halves.
Whilst some plays did lack polish upon their execution, the incredible effort and bravery to continually stay in the fight with one of the competition's heavyweights alone is something the entire Gold Coast community can be proud of.
Denying the Cowboys 25 times from scoring in the opening half hour, the Titans were particularly impressive defensively despite conceding four tries in the injury-ravaged contest, winning a number of key team statistics over their combatants.
The 80 minutes was a true testament to the character the team is building and the loss will only be evident on paper, with so much positivity to take away from the brave and courage performance.
Match highlights: Titans v Cowboys
2. Captain Tino shines again
As one of the club's most consistent players, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui stood up once again with yet another incredible outing as the leader of the Titans.
The 23-year-old played big minutes once again due to the unexpected injury chaos, running over 200 metres in the contest - 66 of those post-contact.
He also came up with three offloads and a tackle break; and was just as good defensively, making 25 tackles in a bid to try and stop hulking forward Jason Taumalolo.
Words and stats simply cannot describe the heart the skipper has for the club week-in, week-out.
Press conference: Round 4
3. Randall trade proves recruiting genius
Joining the Titans from Newcastle over the off-season to bolster the Titans' dummy-half stocks, the swap deal has proved to be a recruitment masterstroke with the collarbone injury to Sam Verrills - not just because of his ability to play in the No. 9 role but because of the back-to-back performances for his new club.
Starring in his first 80 minute performance in Titans colours, the 27-year-old finished the game with 36 tackles at a perfect 100 percent efficiency rate.
He also played a pivotal role as the Coast's rake, with clean and impeccable service out of dummy-half to help the forwards roll through the middle of the field.
