The Gold Coast Titans overcame a poor start to beat Wests Tigers 28-12, with Jaime Chapman scoring a hat-trick in front of a big home crowd.
The Tigers, who had a start to forget last week, were on the ball early which would have pleased coach Brett Kimmorley, getting on the board first with hooker Salma Nour ducking over in the opening moments of the game.
However, they gave over possession when an attempted quick-play-the-ball turned sour with no-one at dummyhalf, allowing Lauren Brown to pounce and regain the ball.
The home side worked their way down the other side of the field with a bit of luck after an unsuccessful Tigers charge-down, and eventually they got the ball to Jaime Chapman who ran through tacklers to score the Gold Coast's first try. Brown converted to draw the scores level.
The Tigers hit straight back however with a special try, with Kezie Apps showing her nous to run through the ruck, exploiting offside Titans, before passing to Losana Lutu who produced a special run, stepping and swerving her way past multiple defenders to post a try-of-the-season contender.
Chapman, a star of the recent State of Origin series for the Blues, then put in her own contender as being passed the ball on her own 30 from fullback Evania Pelite and running the field to score her second.
The Titans went back-to-back when Hailee-Jay Ormond-Maunsell went over out wide after Brown bamboozled the defenders when taking a quick tap from a penalty, running through Tigers players who had their backs turned, only regrouping to bring her down just before the line to prevent her from scoring it herself. The sideline kick was waved away, with the scoring remaining 16-12 until the halftime break.
Jaime Chapman 3rd Try
After the break, Chapman picked up where she left off and was over the her hat-trick, striding out to put the Titans further in front.
The Titans posted other try to Pelite - but her more impressive work was in defence - with her cover defence coming across the field to deny Tigers winger Tess Staines, causing her to lose the ball over the line and deny the visitors a chance to add to their score.
Next round, the Titans will take on Brisbane at Totally Workwear Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday, while Wests Tigers get the round started on Saturday morning when they head to Industree Group Stadium in Gosford to face the Roosters.
Match: Titans v Wests Tigers
Round 2 -
home Team
Titans
1st Position
away Team
Wests Tigers
10th Position
Venue: Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
Match Snapshot
- A crowd of 11,105 was on hand to watch the match.
- At half-time, the Titans had come back from a poor start to earn 53 percent of the possession with 14/17 completions, with Wests Tigers having 47 percent with 13/15 completions. Gold Coast had four errors compared to only two from the visitors.
- Titans star Evania Pelite left the field late in the first half after a head clash with a cut lip, with Emily Bass filling in at fullback. Pelite returned to her position in the second half.
- Bass left the field before the conclusion of the game after battling illness, while hooker Brittany Breayley-Nati also finished her game early with a wrist injury.
- Tigers fullback Botille Vette-Welsh left the field late in the second half for HIA and passed her test, but ran out of time to return.
- The Titans have won five from seven at Cbus Super Stadium.
- Wests Tigers have lost three from three in Queensland.
Play of the Game
Losana Lutu Try
What They Said
NRLW Press Conference: Titans v Wests Tigers - Round 2, 2024
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