The Titans have upset Melbourne in the heat of the Gold Coast, leaving Storm coach Craig Bellamy hot under the collar after his side coughed up a 12-point lead in an uncharacteristically disjointed performance.
Gold Coast trailed 24-12 late in the first half but struck three times in a row to take the lead and showed some resilience to cause a 38-34 boilover after their lacklustre loss to the Dragons last week.
Melbourne have been depleted by injuries early in the season with five-eighth Cameron Munster, prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona and fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen in the casualty ward but their new-look side in 2023 has failed to fire consistently in all three starts with the extra-time win over Parramatta on opening night their only triumph thus far.
Bellamy was up to his coaches box antics, pacing around, ranting about the Storm’s errors as they kept piling up.
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The heat took its toll on the players with the temperature over 30 degrees and despite drinks breaks and a longer half-time break, the playing standard – particularly with handling and in defence – was not a great advertisement for the NRL.
Gold Coast outlaid big bucks to get Kieran Foran to the club to add experience to their spine.
But the veteran five-eighth was benched late in the first half with Jayden Campbell given the task of combining in the halves with Tanah Boyd.
Nick Meaney is tackled by Joe Stimson. (Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images)
The Titans managed to score three tries while Foran was given a spell to seize the momentum of the match and when the Kiwi international returned in the second half, centre Brian Kelly was taken off in his first match of the year due to a suspension with Campbell moving out wide.
Foran set up the match-winning try with a clever kick which AJ Brimson reeled in before Aaron Schoupp crossed in the corner.
But it’s curious that the former Manly playmaker is already being benched three games into a lucrative two-year deal at the Titans.
Titans captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui was placed on report for a shoulder charge so he may have some judiciary dramas ahead while Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes could also face further scrutiny for a late hit on Tanah Boyd after a kick downfield.
“There was so much to like about our side today and we needed it,” Titans coach Justin Holbrook said. “I’m really happy to come out and get the win.”
Holbrook said the rationale behind the Foran benching was Boyd needed to come off for an HIA and be replaced after his 15-minute spell. So he opted to give Foran a spell so that Campbell got an extended run of game time and that his more-experienced playmaker could be fresh for the closing stages of the match.
“Foz is such a competitor, he wants to play 80 minutes and so he should,” he said. “If it’s an 8 o’clock game and 20-odd degrees he stays on there but with those conditions and Jayden Campbell, I thought he was going to have a big impact for us and that’s the way it rolled today.
“It was just in those conditions, honestly it was 30 something degrees and probably nearly 40 in the middle of our stadium.”
After his team copped a 26-12 pasting on home turf at the hands of Canterbury last weekend, Bellamy expected them to bounce back.
However, they again made some un-Stormlike mistakes to keep handing the momentum back to the Titans.
“I’ve never seen some of the things I’ve seen,” Bellamy said. “Our problem at the moment is that the care factor seems very, very low
“You’d think it would have been better (after last weekend’s loss). I’m not quite sure how to fix it.”
It’s an impossible task to come up with an NRL draw which satisfies everyone when you’re trying to please 17 clubs and broadcast rights holders who fork out squillions.
But the schedule should be avoiding day games in the Queensland heat as much as possible in the early rounds.
That has not been the case this year and the sweltering conditions at Cbus Super Stadium had an effect on both teams as the players came up with basic errors trying to get a grip on the sweaty Steeden.
Playing in the heat is also a safety issue – rugby league is a winter sport for a reason. Even though they’re finely tuned elite athletes, running, tackling and colliding at high speed in hot conditions can not only be energy sapping but dangerous.
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart was fuming in Round 1 after his team had to play the Cowboys in the Townsville tropics at 4.30pm with the Sharks vs Rabbitohs game at Cronulla getting the 7.30pm slot that night.
The Dolphins and Roosters also had a 3pm start in Brisbane in the first round with Leichhardt Oval getting the later game.
This Titans vs Storm clash kicked off at 2pm local time with the Cowboys and Warriors following them at 4.30pm in Townsville. Perhaps one of these games should have been scheduled on Friday night instead.
South Sydney’s blockbuster against the Roosters got the marquee 8pm spot on Friday but the Newcastle vs Dolphins game could have been switched into the Saturday line-up to have one less match in the Sunshine State.
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