Positives for the Gold Coast Titans have been few and far between in 2024 but SEN’s Corey Parker believes there is plenty to build on for Des Hasler’s men after their heartbreaking 21-20 golden point loss to the Canberra Raiders on Sunday night.
The Titans were dominated for large sections of the match against Canberra and despite trailing 20-10 with five minutes remaining, Gold Coast conjured a miraculous comeback sealed by a Brian Kelly sideline conversion to force the game into extra time.
Although the result didn’t go their way on Sunday, Parker says the resilience the Titans showed in defence was outstanding and long overdue.
“They showed up and they showed spirit,” Parker told SENQ.
“The Titans had great fight and they joined together to find themselves back in the game.
“Jaimin Jolliffe scored a try right on the death before half time which up until that point, they were absolutely no chance.
“In the first half, they had one tackle in the red zone and they scored off it.
“They just found a way to get back into the game which is exciting.
“AJ Brimson went into six and Kieran Foran into seven which allowed their marquee players to get their hands on the ball.
“They had a red-hot crack which is great and it’s exactly what they needed.
“They made 129 more tackles and they were camped on their own (defensive) line.
“It is a bitter pill to swallow because they had their backs against the wall and they worked so hard.
“That’s now the standard and they now need to repeat it.”
The Raiders had 58 per cent possession and 54 sets compared to the Titans’ 40 which was in large part due to the eight six-again calls for Canberra as opposed to one for the Gold Coast.
Hasler lamented what he saw as poor officiating to which Raiders coach Ricky Stuart responded by saying “Des is on another planet” and was wrong to point the finger at referee Kasey Badger.
“I have to pull up Des because the penalty count was five to three (in favour of Canberra) so it wasn’t entirely lopsided,” Parker continued.
“How good is it to hear a couple or rival coaches having a crack at each other?
‘You’re on another planet’ is just brilliant.
“Des ‘The Mad Scientist’ Hasler is truly on a different planet at times.”
The Titans remain the only winless team in 2024 and host Haser’s former team Manly on Saturday.