Gold Coast have produced one of the greatest wins in club history with a depleted squad running down Brisbane in a stunning upset at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
Despite missing as many as nine regular first-graders, the Titans went toe to toe with their star-studded rivals to emerge triumphant 36-34 in easily the best performance of Des Hasler’s short reign as coach.
It is arguably one of the best for the club since their 2007 entry into the big league and was just their third of the season after starting the year with six straight losses.
For the Broncos, Reece Walsh was at his electrifying best in the first half after a week off with a minor knee problem but they paid the price for constant defensive lapses and a lack of desire to do the hard yards against their more committed opponents.
Fermor made amends by crashing over before Walsh’s silky playmaking skills presented Brendan Piakura with a four-pointer.
The Titans hit back on the stroke of half-time when Erin Clark made it an eight-point gap and makeshift five-eighth Chris Randall, forced even wider to centre after Francis went off, got around Selwyn Cobbo to reduce the deficit to just two points early in the second stanza.
Brisbane regained the momentum when Mam ran the length of the field from a miscued Tom Weaver kick but the Titans refused to go away with Keanan Palasia touching down against his old club in the 63rd minute.
When the Titans spun the ball wide to Brian Kelly on the wing, the Indigenous All Stars representative shook a leg to celebrate as Gold Coast silenced the majority of the 44,221 fans at Suncorp Stadium spectators by taking a 32-30 lead with 13 minutes left.
Alofiana-Khan Pereira touched down in the left corner, wearing the Indigenous Round jersey designed by his mother Sylvia, to give the visitors a six-point advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.
Cobbo sliced through in the 73rd minute out wide but Jock Madden’s sideline conversion sailed wide and the Broncos looked like they would snatch victory in the closing stages but Weaver saved the day with his defensive play.
“We hung in there. It was a really good trait,” Hasler said. “The last seven weeks they’ve been staying in the fight for 80 minutes. We showed some good character, it was an important two points.
“It says a lot about how the side is attacking and approaching the game.”
with AAP
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