A disappointing Brisbane Broncos outfit has stumbled to a 26-14 defeat to the Gold Coast Titans at Suncorp Stadium in front of over 30,000 fans.
The Gold Coast headed into Sunday night's clash with Brisbane off the back of an embarrassing 54-8 loss to the Dragons. However, they appeared a completely different side early as their left edge torn the Brisbane defence apart with both Phillip Sami and Dale Copley crossing for tries in the first five minutes. The Broncos were hardly threatening in attack until a moment of individual brilliance from hooker Andrew McCullough saw the rake dummy and race straight through the Gold Coast defence to score in the 25th minute. Just as Brisbane seemed to be working their way back into the contest the Titans added to their lead. Of all players on the field it was Ryan James who displayed great vision to grubber through for an unmarked Sami to claim an early double. A late penalty saw Jamayne Isaako boot for the two points yet the Titans remained leaders at the break by 16 points to 8.
The Gold Coast extended their buffer in the 45th minute when Will Matthew soared above to bat back a bomb to Sami who kicked it across the field to set up Anthony Don out wide. Sami again featured ten minutes later when he strolled over out wide off a questionable ball by Kane Elgey. Brisbane had plenty of chances to strike back late after the Titans came up with a number of errors yet Kodi Nikorima was the only player able to take advantage after the halfback dummied and sped through the line to reduce the deficit to 26-14. Ultimately, the Titans held on for a stunning twelve-point victory, bouncing back from last week's thumping at the hands of St. George.
Next week the Broncos will look to recover from tonight's dejecting defeat when they take on the Knights at Newcastle on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Gold Coast look to keep up their momentum against the injury-hit Sea Eagles on Sunday afternoon at Marley Brown Oval.