Warriors end losing streak against Titans
Not even Mat Rogers coming out of retirement could help the last-placed Gold Coast avoid a scrappy 22-6 NRL loss to the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium on Friday night.
The Warriors shattered their four-match losing streak, dispelling fears they might not front for coach Ivan Cleary, who last week announced he will leave the club to coach Penrith next season.
There were suggestions Cleary could be gone before the end of the year but, on Friday night's evidence, the Warriors coach of seven years has the team's full support.
The Titans never looked like adding to their embarrassing tally of just four wins this season, with the 10,780 fans who braved the cold and wet left satisfied with a win that boosted the Warriors playoff hopes after they'd slipped to ninth through a horror run in June.
"After five weeks without winning it was good to get that feeling back again," said Cleary of his side who were coming off the bye.
"We can build on that and get some confidence back."
It wasn't all good news for the Warriors, with centre Lewis Brown hobbling off after just two minutes with a lower ankle sprain.
"He's got a bad ankle of some sort. We're hoping it's not too bad but he's obviously going to be in doubt for next week," Cleary said.
Five-eighth James Maloney's dab kick provided the opening try of the match as Shaun Berrigan swooped in the eighth minute.
Titans backrower Anthony Laffranchi blew a certain four-pointer when he failed to collect a Scott Prince grubber and, soon after Warriors fullback Kevin Locke put winger Bill Tupou over in the corner.
Prince kicked perfectly for William Zillman to score, to keep the Titans well in the match down 10-6 at the break.
It took a piece of Feleti Mateo brilliance to halt the initial second-half arm-wrestle.
The gifted backrower, who had another standout performance with 25 tackles and 126 metres, secured a Maloney bomb and his customary backdoor flick gave skipper Simon Mannering enough room to barge over.
When Locke chimed in the backline with an over-the-top ball that sent Manu Vatuvei over in the 57th, it was game over.
The Gold Coast were left to contemplate the increasing possibility of a wooden spoon, after yet another demoralising defeat.
"It's frustrating because we know we're a better team," lamented a downcast Prince.
"We're just not playing the way we know we can.
"(There were) glimpses of some real positive stuff but we'd have to say we're playing real inconsistent at the moment.
"We haven't strung a good 80 minute performance together. (We're) very patchy.
"When you're winning games you gain confidence and self belief in what you're doing right. Physically we can match it with teams but in patches we just slip off mentally and that's where opposition teams are getting us."
Coach John Cartwright shrugged off a disruptive build-up which saw him lose centre Esi Tonga to a groin strain and Greg Bird after he pulled up lame from State of Origin duties for NSW. The withdrawals allowed 35-year-old dual international Rogers to feature in his 200th first-grade match after answering an SOS to come out of retirement.
"The effort was there but we're struggling to get across the line," he said.
"We're having trouble busting the line. When you (can't) do that sometimes the head can drop."
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