Another inspirational stint from Tino Fa'asuamaleaui helped the Titans remain in the hunt against ever-challenging Melbourne Storm, who proved too strong at full-time to defeat the Gold Coast 37-16 on Saturday afternoon.
Staying in the fight for most of the match to keep asking questions of the top four juggernauts, the task was made even harder pre-game with the withdrawal of Moeaki Fotuaika due to the birth of his first child.
But the Titans skipper's efforts nullified the missing middle forward, helping charge towards an almighty upset on a special day for Melbourne, up until a controversial call to send Kieran Foran from the field for a head injury assessment upset the Titans' momentum which in turn, allowed the home side to romp home and secure a guaranteed finals berth.
Match: Storm v Titans
Round 26 -
home Team
Storm
4th Position
away Team
Titans
13th Position
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Here are the key talking points from the Round 26 clash:
Titans test contenders but Melbourne prove class
On a day made for the Storm scriptwriters with the return of Ryan Papenhuyzen after a 405-day hiatus due to injury, the Titans turned up to AAMI Park with an intent to spoil the party and back-up their Round 3 upset to break their 3,429 day hoodoo in Melbourne.
Going into the clash as heavy underdogs missing seven of their likely starting 13, the Gold Coast started strong and despite the home side taking an early lead, the visitors kept tabs with them to only be two points away (18-16) in the 55th minute.
But the prowess of playmaking pair Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes proved to play a huge role in the top four finalists' command of the match in the final 20 minutes, running away with the result with three tries to secure the two points.
Also helping turn momentum was the introduction of Papenhuyzen in the 62nd minute, getting the crowd up and about to help cheer them to victory.
Forward pack fill Fotuaika void
The Titans were dealt a blow late this week knowing Moeaki Fotuaika would be missing due to the birth of his first child, but delivering yet another herculean effort to help alleviate his prop partner's absence was captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui in his 68 minutes on field.
Running over 200 metres - 103 of those post-contact - the inspirational outing against his former team was the third game this year he's amassed the double century with ball-in-hand, now averaging 166 metres a game. He also played a big part defensively, making 37 tackles - the most of any Titans in the clash.
Jaimin Jolliffe also provided plenty of go forward in the engine room, making 148 metres in his third game back from injury as well as making 32 tackles, and milestone man Chris Randall was strong in defence, also making 32 tackles and nabbed the first four-pointer in his 50th NRL appearance.
Milestone man Randall sneaks over
Contentious Foran HIA kills off comeback chance
A debatable decision to send Kieran Foran for a head injury assessment in 69th minute after Ryan Papenhuyzen clipped the experienced playmaker high all but thwarted the Titans any chance of a fairytale finish in Melbourne after only trailing the Storm by eight points in that stage of the game.
The call made by medical staff in the Bunker after the minimal high contact - in which didn't result in any penalty to the Gold Coast - had the No. 6 seething when he was marched to the sidelines for the mandatory test, which forced the visitors into a reshuffle, shifting AJ Brimson to five-eighth after initially being moved to the centres midway through the game.
Upon the change, the Storm iced the game in the next set as they romped home with 13 unanswered points in the final 10 minutes to seal their 15th win of the season.
Interim Titans coach Jim Lenihan was also frustrated by the situation, confused about the decision when asked in the post-match press conference.
"I get baffled how we don’t get a penalty for Kieran getting hit in the head but yet the doctor takes him off for getting hit in the head," he said.
"I felt like we probably deserved a penalty at that point and then we lose our best ballplayer for the rest of the game inside the last 15 minutes, and then they get two tries off kicks to finish us off."
