A Jaiman Lowe king-hit which knocked Titans centre Brett Delaney out cold has overshadowed Gold Coast's crucial 25-18 NRL win over South Sydney.

Souths interchange forward Lowe was given his marching orders by referee Tony De Las Heras in the dying stages at Carrara.

The big Rabbitoh held the Titans centre with one hand before throwing a big right-hand punch after playing the ball 40 metres out from the Titans' tryline.

Lowe's moment of madness not only reduced the visitors to 12 men but also stopped their comeback in its tracks with three minutes left.

Sydney Roosters reject Josh Lewis, finding the Gold Coast more to his liking, had combined with Scott Prince to lead the Titans to a 24-12 lead with eight minutes left.

But an error on the restart saw Souths storm back through a try to fullback Reece Simmonds, set up nicely by rookie centre Fetuli Talanola.

Halfback Joe Williams kicked his third conversion of the night from the sideline to set up a tense finish.

A dazed Delaney, sporting a huge gash under his nose that required stitches, took issue with the Rabbitohs' claims.

"I tackled him, grabbed him on the shorts, I don't know exactly where but if I did (grab his testicles) it was not intentional," he said through a club spokesman.

Cartwright said even if there had been a grab there was no defence for Lowe's cold-blooded punch.

"It was a king-hit," Cartwright said.

"It was a cheap shot, there was pushing and shoving and he king-hit him basically."

The only plus for the Titans coach in the incident was that it poured cold water on the visitors' comeback and ultimately helped end a three-match losing streak.

"It happened at a good time for us anyway, they were going to test us," he said. "It was going to be a nervous last few minutes."

Captain and halfback Prince, who bankrolled the win with two solo second-half tries, said Lowe's punch was a "frightening" blow and it reminded him of Danny Williams' hit on Mark O'Neill in round 19 of 2004.

"I heard it from the other side of the park and it was a very similar situation," said Prince.

Named on the bench for his Coast debut, Lewis started at five-eighth and took little time to make an impact in an error-riddled encounter.

The 21-year-old was instrumental in building a 12-6 half-time lead by setting up two tries with his right boot before halves partner Prince scored two darting individual tries after the break.

It was supposed to be a battle of the desperados but neither side really played as though their seasons depended on ending three-match losing streaks.

The Titans did show more creativity and looked better organised and slicker with Lewis and Prince calling the shots.

Forward Anthony Laffranchi was a standout, getting through a ton of work in both attack and defence while NSW prop Luke Bailey backed up superbly after Wednesday's Origin loss to Queensland.

Lewis ended last year as the Roosters playmaker after playing the last 11 first-grade games in his rookie season, but quickly found himself out of favour under new coach Chris Anderson.

He was released by the Roosters a fortnight ago to join the Titans.

And with just his third touch of the ball, Lewis grubbered perfectly near the line for second-rower Mark Minichiello to score in the fourth minute.

But it was the 21-year-old's error, a kick out on the full in the ninth minute, which paved the way for the Rabbitohs to hit back, albeit controversially.

Video ref gave the benefit of the doubt to five-eighth Jeremy Smith, who dived on a well-weighted Joe Williams grubber but appeared to fumble the ball before grounding it with his torso.

The partisan Coast crowd gave the decision the thumbs down but Williams duly converted to level the scores at 6-all.

Lewis again reaped dividends with a kick when a huge spiral bomb was spilt by Rabbitohs fullback Reece Simmonds, allowing Brett Delaney to score.

Two low, driving Stuart Webb hits on Titans prop James Stosic were among the very few highlights for the Rabbitohs while Talanola showed plenty, including a second-half try, with his late call-up for an injured Shannon Hegarty.

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