Titans hold off relentless Warriors in ANZAC round opener

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Warriors v Gold Coast Titans

The first game of the ANZAC round has set the bar with a try-fest finally sealed by a desperate Gold Coast Titans.

A powerful ANZAC pre-game ceremony was enough to give the home team a boost at the start, putting on two tries in the first 10 minutes of the game. Some undisciplined play by Kelly earned a penalty and a good field position for the Warriors early, and in no time, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad charged over.

This was quickly followed by an error by Alofiana Khan-Pereira within the Titan's 20m line. Opening the door for a big and fast Addin Fonua-Blake to find a gap and crash over for another try.

It looked like another long day for the Titans until they started to grind out some momentum, with Alofiana Khan-Pereira finding 50m of space up the left edge. AJ Brimson was there to offer support and was rewarded with a try, giving the Titans a whiff they could get back into the game.

That whiff turned into another two tries before halftime and then another two unanswered tries in the opening of the second half.

The Warriors weren't helping themselves and, during the end of the first half, kept giving the ball up to the Titans 20m, giving them relief from pressure and good attack positions. Tanah Boyd began to warn up to the game, and after the Titans got some extra meters from a penalty, Boyd attacked the line, catching the Warriors flat and taking the 4 points.

Boyd gained confidence from this, and his kicking game improved, forcing an error by Marcelo Montoya in goal. The following set David Fifita found space on the line and was over. Boyd ended the first half with a smart field goal to run into the sheds ahead 19 -17.

The Titans came out firing first in the second half, with

Alofiana Khan-Pereira going over after a Warriors error close to their line.

The Warriors weren't done, but a counter-attack lost its wind after the bunker found a knock-on to RTS from Wade Egan before he left above Aaron Schoupp to almost score.

Feeling the pressure, the Warriors were making more errors in their game. The desperation got to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak as he tried a reckless offload in his own 20m and failed. With the Titans making them pay for this error, they were sitting pretty at 27 - 12 after AJ Brimson went over for his second try of the day.

But the Warriors' shifting momentum came about with some inspiring runs from Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. His teammates were rallying, and they had the Titans on the back foot. It was relentless raid after raid on the Titans' goal line, with Addin Fonua-Blake going over for his second and sparking a revival in his team.

Shaun Johnson's kicking had been sound, and he finally came up with the goods when he placed it perfectly for a charging Rocco Berry to go over and give the Warriors and their fans belief!

From Berry's try in the 63rd minute onwards, the Titans' line was assaulted. It seemed it was only a matter of time before the Warriors went over; they had lifted another gear. But it was the Titans who were digging deeper than we had seen this year with a spirited defence.

The Warriors gave it everything, but the Titans' defensive efforts in the back end of the game cemented the win. Although they had given away easy points early, it was their defensive effort for the last 15 minutes that won them the game and their first win for the year.