Key Three: Des' day, Foz Farewells NZ & Jolliffe leads from the front
The Gold Coast Titans have rocked one of the competition leaders, the New Zealand Warriors at Go Media Stadium today.
With a 24-16 victory the Titans defeated the Warriors in a NRL and NRLW double header, that saw the Gold Coast side claim the points in both games, including the much needed victory for the mens side.
With Kieran Foran playing in New Zealand for the last time and Des Hasler coaching game 500, today's game was never going to be ordinary.
Here are the key three talking points from the match;
Des' day in game 500
Des Hasler may have played it down all week but his feat of 500 NRL games coached is a milestone only achieved by five other NRL coaches, so there was always going to be a response from his team for the momentous occasion today.
After letting in two tries early things looked shaky for the Titans side, before Hasler's team bounced back and dominated possession and the better of play from that point onwards.
The Titans had won five of their last six against the Warriors and Hasler seven of his last 10 games at the venue before today, and Hasler's side played the game with confidence like they knew that.
The Warriors scored two relatively soft tries to open the day, but from that point the Titans completed at a high rate and Jayden Campbell's kicking game pinned the New Zealand team in their own half.
In what has been a tough season to date, there was plenty for the veteran mentor to smile about today.
Foran farewells New Zealand in style
In a storied career, today's game marked the last time rugby league and New Zealand legend, Kieran Foran, would play in front of his homeland crowd.
Today's match was game 50 for the Titans, and saw the veteran captain the side with regular skipper Tino Fa'asuamaleaui out injured - adding to the fanfare.
Foran's career across four clubs has included 17 games for the Warriors in 2017, along with 31 test matches for the New Zealand Kiwis, so the day was always going to be a special one, no matter the result.
Heavily involved in the first half, Foran's best moment came with a 20 metre cutout pass in 59th minute that landed on Phil Sami's chest to open up the Titans scoring in the second stanza.
Foran played arguably his best game of the season to combine with halves partner Jayden Campbell in leading his team to victory.
Jolliffe continues strong form
Jaimin Jolliffe continued his strong run of form in the middle of the field for the Titans today.
The veteran prop set up his side's first try with a nice offload that sent Jayden Campbell away to draw the fullback and Jojo Fifita to score.
He followed it up with a second offload that sent Campbell into the backfield again as he completed the full 40 minutes in the first half.
Jolliffe's form has been such that he has taken the starting number 10 jersey in recent weeks, and he wasn't in the mood to relinquish it today.
With a 51-minute first stint, the Titans front rower produced 100 run metres (38 post-contact), 2 linebreak assists and 27 tackles.
He returned to the field late in the game to help tidy up the middle and keep a strong finishing Warriors side at bay.
Jolliffe may not always get the headlines, but performances like today will ensure he remains one of the first names on the team sheet each week.
The Titans return home to take on the Penrith Panthers next Saturday at Cbus Super Stadium. Grab your tickets here.
