Halfback Jamal Fogarty is proving in his third stint as a Titan that he well and truly belongs in the NRL and it was no surprise he set up rookie Beau Fermor for the match-winner against the Warriors on Friday.
A Fogarty grubber was chased down by Fermor in the 75th minute to give the Gold Coast a 16-12 lead and then Fogarty secured as good a 40/20 as you will see to ensure the Titans hung on.
The 26-year-old was signed to the Titans as an under 20s player and then again after he returned from a short stint with the Eels in 2017.
After guiding the Burleigh Bears to an Intrust Super Cup title for the second time last year, and winning the statewide competition's player of the year award, he was rewarded with a two-year deal.
Fogarty is light on his feet and has great game sense as he showcased by making the most of an overlap to create the Titans first try for Anthony Don. He has vindicated the faith shown in him by coach Justin Holbrook and intends to make the most of it.
Don does what Don does best
"It has been quite a journey to be honest. I think I have signed here three times over my career so far," Fogarty said after the Titans win.
“To be in the first grade team weekly, I am definitely getting more confident.
"Most importantly, the players are telling me I need to step up and take control which is good to hear from my peers.
"If we can keep building on little combinations we are definitely going to get better."
Effort gets rewarded for Fermor
Fogarty has a history of coming up with clutch plays and said taking control after halves partner Ash Taylor left the field concussed in the 63rd minute was a natural step.
"I think as halves we automatically put that ownership onto ourselves to get some repeat sets so we aren't tackling our backsides off like we were in the first 40 minutes," he said.
"We are our harshest critics in making sure we come up with those sort of plays, so it was good to pull off a couple at the end of the game which got us over the line.
"The boys outside me were calling for a grubber kick and all I had to do was get it into the in-goal to get a repeat set, or even better. When Beau came up with the try we were cheering.
"The coach has put a lot of confidence in me to control the team and Ash just jumps on the back of it so my role didn't really change. I just knew that come the last tackle I needed the ball because Ash wasn't out there to be that second option."
Fermor, playing just his second game in the NRL, embraced his switch from back-row to centre.
It didn't start well, with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck standing him up, but the finish to the match was sweet indeed.
"Roger got one over me straight away and I learned pretty quickly how good he is. I needed to brush that off and re-focus on what I was doing," Fermor said.
"It was really nice to get my first [NRL] try and even better that it was to get us in front at the end.
"I have played centre before so I was always confident."
Match Highlights: Titans v Warriors
With Holbrook out of options in the centres, it was a vote of confidence in Fermor that he was prepared to give him a crack.
"I thought he was terrific last week. I wanted to keep him in the side because of how well he played and it is great for a young guy to play his second game out of position," Holbrook
"I said 'I need you to play centre for me'… and he had no hesitation.
"As a coach you get so excited. It is great to see them rewarded because I have seen how hard he had worked to get into the side. To then come up with that big play to get us in front and go onto the win the game… I was really happy for Beau."