The Wests Tigers have put the nail in the coffin of the Titans' finals hopes with a 26-4 victory over the Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Super Stadium.
The scoring throughout the opening 40 was hard to come by for both sides but the start was bright for the visitors when Esan Marsters was on the end of a bright sweeping play from Tedesco and the Tigers and Marsters went straight through a big hole to give the visitors an early 4-0 lead.
The Tigers were given chance after chance after chance by the Gold Coast to extend the lead right through the half but they couldn't with so often the final pass going to ground or being turned over. The Titans crossed through Jarryd Hayne after 15 minutes but it was called back by the bunker after the bunker ruled a knock on from Morgan Boyle after he got a hand to the ball off a one-on-one strip by the Tigers. The Tigers were also denied with 10 minutes to half time after again a live try decision from Chris James was overturned after the bunker ruled James Tedesco danced through to score under the posts with assistance from an obstruction.
The second half was a points spree for the Tigers with a controversial decision from the bunker giving James Tedesco his first after the bunker ruled play on after Tedesco dropped the ball on to his foot and chased through to score despite precedence of it being called a knock on.
The Tigers then added more points instantly when Luke Brooks found space through the middle of the field before finding MWZ out by the sideline who scored in the corner to take the Tigers out to a 14-0 lead.
The Titans then hit back not long after and with some sustained pressure Jarryd Hayne found his way through a tough tackle to reach out and slam the ball onto the line despite the tackle putting Jarryd Hayne in plenty of pain afterwards. The hopes of a comeback from the Titans were building with some sustained pressure but like the Tigers in the first half the home side couldn't finish their plays and relieved the pressure on the Tigers.
The Tigers then added a new record to the books when Chris Lawrence became the clubs top try scorer when he took a last tackle run through some poor defence that left a gap for the Tigers veteran to run through and score next to the right upright to help the score out to 20-4 after Lolohea's conversion. The good day for the Tigers veterans continued when Aaron Woods went through and got his firs club try of the year when he barged his way over under the posts through some more flimsy defence from the Titans and put the game beyond doubt with Lolohea's conversion to take it to 26-4.
The Tigers pressed and looked dangerous right up until the final seconds but couldn't add any extra points to the score.
Next weekend the Titans are again at CBus Super Stadium this time on Saturday when they take on the Brisbane Broncos meanwhile it's the battle of the Cleary's and the Watene-Zelezniak's for the Tigers when they take on the Penrith Panthers at Pepper Stadium on Sunday afternoon.