Titanic second half as Brisbane's finals hopes sink without trace

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Gold Coast Titans v Brisbane Broncos

A ruthless 36 point second half by the Gold Coast Titans has seen them all but eliminate the Brisbane Broncos from finals contention, thanks to amazing performances from Keano Kini and Jojo Fifita.

After a tense opening in which both sides had their share of attacking chances, Pat Carrigan created a second phase which sent Reece Walsh into space. Walsh then kicked ahead, got past Keano Kini and put the ball down for the opening try. It was a try that wasn't without it's fair share of controversy. Wyatt Raymond ruled that as Carrigan offloaded, he and Sam Verrills were allegedly "tangled" as replays suggested Carrigan pulled Verrills down illegally. The Titans were aggrieved and down early on the score-board.

Their worries got worse on the ensuing set post points as the game's poster child pulled off his second bit of brilliance in as many minutes. Walsh was on fire and the Titans were on the back foot. On the last tackle with nothing doing, Walsh chased his own kick and flies above Keano Kini to slam it down and cross for number two in as many minutes. Brisbane were dealt a big blow in the aftermath of Walsh's second try. Payne Haas limped off with what Broncos officials fear to be a "Lisfranc" injury.

After the Broncos started with fear. The Titans needed something fast and it was a shift to the right edge that sent Jojo Fifita away. He beat the Superman tackle technique of Walsh as well as Ezra Mam to unload to Kini to cross for the Titans first of the afternoon after 19 minutes. Gold Coast had the momentum and started to win the middle after Haas' injury. Kieran Foran and Kini combined to go down the right hand edge. Kini broke through a poor tackle by Deine Mariner to find Jojo Fifita to score and hit back.

The tide of momentum swings continued to swing backwards and forwards. This time, before the break. Brisbane capitalised and after a clever Adam Reynolds kick, Kobe Hetherington got to the ball first and scored a vital try for the Broncos. The lead remained six and the news got worse for the visitors when Mam hurt his ankle in an awkward collision with Kini. The Titans full-back was sin-binned for a professional foul as he grabbed Mam prior to him getting the ball. Reynolds added a penalty goal for an 18-10 lead at the half.

With Brisbane battling low on troops and failing to execute during the extra man advantage. The Titans capitalised, a great kick from Foran was batted back by Jojo Fifita and toed ahead by Kini. He picked it up brilliantly and grounded it by mere millimetres to give the Titans the first of the second half and reduce the gap to four. The Titans were becoming the Harlem GlobeTrotters and set on terrorising the Broncos with their ball movement. It went through several sets of hands and it ended up in the arms of Brian Kelly who races away to level the scores.

Brisbane's season was evaporating faster than the Titan Submarine as injuries and ill-discipline began to take their toll. Foran once again set his kick towards Corey Oates, Jojo Fifita again outlept the experienced winger and Campbell was jolly on the spot to collect his second. However, Sam Verrills was pinned for an alleged obstruction on Oates and the try was denied. The home side didn't need to wait long to extend their lead. Kini continued to have the Brisbane defence on tenterhooks with brilliant movement to beat Oates. He then fired a brilliant pass to Fifita who brushes past some horrific cover defence and crosses for the Broncos and extend the gap to eight.

The Broncos were fighting hard to stay in the finals race. However, the more they tried, the more mistakes they made. From a scrum win, the Titans finally shift it left as Kelly isolates the defender and sent Alofiana Khan-Pereira away. He dodged several defenders like he was a dodgem at Movie World and puts the game beyond doubt. Jojo Fifita put the match beyond doubt with his maiden hattrick in the NRL to extend the margin out to eighteen points. On the next set, Phil Sami scored as Fifita continued his day terrorising Oates as the Titans cracked 40 in a ruthless display of attacking footy.