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Jarryd Hayne looks on as the Titans season was ended by the Wests Tigers.

As he sat down to discuss the failings of his footy team and the fact that their finals fate had now been sealed, Titans coach Neil Henry was informed that the cameraman in charge of shooting the post-match press conference had lost power as Henry and captain Ryan James had walked into the room.

It was the perfect real-life metaphor for what had transpired over the preceding 80 minutes.

With the Knights breathing new life into the Titans' finals hopes by briefly quelling the top eight aspirations of the Dragons 24 hours earlier, Gold Coast came out against a team in 15th position and were comprehensively outplayed in all areas of the game.

Yes the Wests Tigers made some errors that are indicative of the lowly position they find themselves in after 21 rounds but such was their energy and intent that they were rewarded with so many more opportunities that they eventually triumphed to the tune of 26-4.


It extinguished any hope that the Titans may have harboured with regards to finishing in the top eight at season's end and once power had been restored Henry attempted to explain where his side's last vestiges of hope had disappeared to.

"Everything to play for and weren't even able to get into the game," Henry lamented.

"That scoreline is a true reflection of the game. We were out enthused from start to finish.

"We weren't willing to do what we needed to do today.

"They're not playing for a season but they're playing to sing their song and to compete.

"For whatever reason, through a lack of commitment to get it done collectively, we weren't good enough and that's it. Our challenge now is to prepare and be competitive."

Citing the loss of both Konrad Hurrell and Kevin Proctor pre-game to injuries as crucial losses, Henry didn't seek to find excuses for his team's performance, admitting that he was at a loss to explain such a listless display with so much at stake.

"The reality is we had 17 players that were outplayed today and that is it. I haven't got the complete answer," Henry said.

"We prepared well, we trained OK, we had enthusiasm through the week, we knew we were going to have to shuffle players, we trained in that shuffled position, but there's still enough in the team to say that's a result we just had to get today.

"We didn't run with a lot of intent early, we didn't have the line speed. I thought we could turn it around at half-time but you need to back up words with actions and that didn't occur today.

"That's just a very poor performance and with Member's Appreciation Day and all that stuff in the background it really hurts."

A tantalising prospect prior to Sunday's loss, the Titans must now prepare to face a finals-bound Broncos team at home next Saturday with nothing but pride to play for.

A clash with the old enemy might be the perfect antidote to the muted offering they put up against the Tigers but captain Ryan James said that they had enough motivation to deliver a much better performance.

"You shouldn't have to wait to verse the club that you hate to really pick up and play footy," James said.

"Everything was on the line tonight – as it was last weekend. Last week we put in a big performance and it took a lot out of us but there's no excuses to come here and throw up that performance.

"It was a day where we had to really put it out there and give it our all and now you have to play for pride in the jersey."

 

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