Warriors withstand TItans after first-half blitz

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Warriors v Gold Coast Titans

The Warriors continued their strong start to the season with a 28-20 win over the Gold Coast Titans at Go Media Stadium in Auckland. A crowd of 24,112 watched the home side dominate the first half before holding off a late Titans surge.

The Warriors controlled the opening exchanges and struck first through Alofiana Khan‑Pereira, who finished a smooth right‑edge movement in the corner. The Titans struggled to settle and repeatedly handed over possession, allowing the Warriors to build pressure. Khan‑Pereira crossed again soon after, this time on the left, following another well‑executed shift. Tanah Boyd converted from the sideline to extend the lead to 10-0.

The home side continued to dictate the tempo. Chanel Harris‑Tavita scored next to the posts after the ball was kept alive through the middle. Boyd added the extras for a 16-0 advantage. The Titans had a brief period of momentum when Jayden Campbell forced a dropout and Kurtis Morrin was initially ruled to have scored, but the bunker overturned it. The Warriors responded by going the length of the field and finishing the half with a penalty goal to take a 22-0 lead into the break.

The Titans began the second half with more intent and were rewarded when Jojo Fifita finished strongly in the corner. Campbell could not convert in the windy conditions. Any hopes of a comeback were halted almost immediately when the Titans dropped the ball from the kickoff. The Warriors capitalised through Erin Clark, who scored beside the posts after receiving a short offload from James Fisher‑Harris. Boyd converted for a 28-4 lead.

The Titans continued to push and eventually found more success on the edges. Sialetili Faeamani scored out wide after a long bunker review confirmed the grounding. Campbell missed the conversion. Soon after, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui produced a strong take from a high ball and offloaded to Arama Hau, who dummied and scored under the posts. Campbell converted to reduce the margin to 28-14.

The Titans added another try late when Kurtis Morrin scored beside the posts following a short‑side movement. Campbell converted to bring the score to 28-20 with three minutes remaining. The Warriors then closed out the match by defending a final Titans set before taking the last tackle as the siren sounded.

The Warriors were clearly the better side in the first half and showed enough composure in the second to secure their fifth win of the season. The Titans improved significantly after the break but were left to rue a poor opening 40 minutes and several costly errors.

Next week the Warriors face the Dolphins on ANZAC Day. The Titans have the bye in Round 8.