Titans give Big Brother the bash

The Gold Coast Titans have produced a great team performance to hand the Brisbane Broncos their fourth loss in five games by running out 28-16 winners over the defending champions at a packed Suncorp Stadium this evening.

The match was scoreless for the first quarter before the Titans suddenly clicked with two quickfire tries to Mark Minichiello and Brett Delaney. The second try was a beauty - a break up the left-hand flank through Mat Rogers and Minichiello from a Broncos restart was finished off by Delaney out wide - but the Broncos hit back with a try to Karmichael Hunt after a tough call from the touch judge handed possession to the Broncos in a good attacking position.

The Titans took a six-point lead into the sheds, but that could easily have been reversed if the Broncos had been able to hang on to the ball. They missed several scoring opportunities with a combination of unforced errors and forward passes, although the Titans strong defence could also take plenty of credit.

The second half began in a similar way to the first as both teams settled back into the game, but once again the Titans were able to find an extra gear when it was needed most. Some inspired plays from Titans halfback Scott Prince led to further tries for Delaney and Michael Henderson to open up a 16 point lead to the new boys as the Broncos continued to bomb their chances.

Despite a Justin Hodges try giving the Broncos a sniff of hope it was extinguished when Anthony Laffranchi barged over from dummy-half late in the match to seal the result for the Titans. Brent Tate scored a consolation try to give the scoreboard a slightly more respectable look, but there was no doubt that the Titans were the dominant team on the night.

The Broncos are left facing a 1-4 record and a team that looks devoid of answers at the moment - they were outplayed and out-enthused all over the park tonight. Given that their only victory this season has been against the team running dead last, it