Key three: Titans leave Canberra proud after golden point thriller
The Titans have gone down in a golden point thriller, but have left GIO Stadium with their heads held high after a gutsy performance that will leave the Gold Coast proud.
Fighting back to score a crucial four-pointer in the final minute, Brian Kelly iced the conversion from the sideline to send the game to extra time, but it wasn't to be as a former Titan iced the game in the final seconds to clinch a win for the home side.
Match: Raiders v Titans
Round 6 -
home Team
Raiders
3rd Position
away Team
Titans
17th Position
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Here are the key talking points from the match:
Fogarty's final minute field goal breaks Titans hearts
Titans members and fans have no nails left. What a finish to the game, albeit not the finish they were craving.
After Alofiana Khan-Pereira finished brilliantly in the corner, Brian Kelly slotted a goal from the sideline after the siren to send the match to extra time. For context, he had never kicked a goal in a NRL match until this kick!
We're going to golden point!
The first stanza in extra time was a grind. Neither team were able to find the field position needed to take a shot at drop goal.
Come the second period, both sides had their chances. Kieran Foran attempted a shot with just over three minutes to go but Canberra’s defenders managed to charge the ball down.
After AJ Brimson exploded into space to put the Titans back into attack, the Gold Coasters had a second shot but Foran missed wide. With under a minute left on the clock, Ethan Strange sidestepped his way into space to give the Raiders their only shot of extra time.
Jamal Fogarty slotted the winner with seconds on the clock to gift the home side the win.
Gutsy defence keeps Titans in Raiders rumble
Defensively, you couldn’t fault the effort.
To give context for that comment, here’s a few stats from the match.
Gold Coast only had 41 percent of possession compared to Canberra’s 59 percent. The Titans made 491 tackles compared to the Raiders 335.
Jaimin Jolliffe, Chris Randall and Beau Fermor all made over 50 tackles, while Klese Haas was pushing close to that mark as well.
The Titans were also on the wrong side of the penalty count.
Despite the stats, the white jersey’s with a splash of cyan continued to show up for each other. The defence kept the Titans in the match and gave them a chance late in the game to bring scores level.
While ultimately Canberra took the two points, there was a lot to like in terms of the grit, grind and hard work that the Titans put on show.
It gives a great building block ahead of a big home clash against Manly next weekend at Cbus Super Stadium.
Jolliffe stands tall in skipper’s absence
Many feared Tino Fa'asuamaleaui's season-ending injury would prove bothersome for the Titans forward pack, but Jaimin Jolliffe has disproved that in a big way with yet another enormous performance in the No. 10 jersey.
Jaimin Jolliffe scores the Titans' first in Canberra
In a bid to avenge a tough 2023 season that saw the 27-year-old only play nine games due to a ruptured pec and broken hand across different parts of the year, the Gold Coast motor has been able to turn the tables with dominant performances since Round 1; tonight being the best of his best this year.
Playing 70 minutes against the Raiders, Jolliffe was a stronghold in defence making 55 tackles with a 100 percent tackle efficiency. He also was lethal in attack, scoring the crucial first four-pointer - his second try of the season.
