The Gold Coast Titans have delivered a blow to North Queensland’s finals hopes, with a 22-13 win at Robina in the final game of round 22.
The game followed a thriller in Bundaberg, where the Bulldogs edged out the Dolphins.
Titans take care of the Cowboys in Robina
The Gold Coast have upset North Queensland with a deserved 22-13 win to throw the race for the NRL top eight wide open.
The eighth-placed Cowboys, on 26 competition points, missed a golden chance to go to fifth position and will also be sweating on the NRL’s match review committee charge sheet on Monday after centre Valentine Holmes was put on report for a high tackle.
With five rounds remaining, two competition points separate sixth-placed South Sydney, on 26 points, and Parramatta in 11th on 24.
The Titans deserved their victory at Robina in front of 16,516 fans on an afternoon where winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira notched his 18th try in 2023 to become the highest-ever tryscorer in a season for the club.
The win broke a four-game losing streak for the hosts and ended a six-match winning sequence for the Cowboys.
The Titans started the scoring with a sensational 70m try.
Khan-Pereira broke clear into open space and kicked ahead for fullback AJ Brimson to score.
Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater found winger Semi Valemei with a perfectly timed cutout pass to level it up.
Prop Coen Hess leapt like a gazelle to snaffle a Chad Townsend bomb and score to give the visitors a 12-6 lead but it started to unravel for the Cowboys from there.
Brimson left the field in the 17th minute with an abdominal tear and super sub Campbell came on for the Titans.
Holmes was sin-binned and put on report for a high shot on fullback Jayden Campbell in the 21st minute.
It was the second time in consecutive weeks he had been binned for a similar offence.
Titans outside backs Brian Kelly and Phil Sami both signed contract extensions until the end of 2026 during the week and combined for a 23rd minute try to Sami as the Titans made the most of having an extra man.
The Cowboys led 13-10 at halftime but Khan-Pereira broke clear immediately following the break to put Campbell over in another 70m raid.
Khan-Pereira scored minutes later to notch his 18th try for the year.
Titans second-rower David Fifita, who set him up for the try, held the club record previously with 17 tries.
The Titans, on 22 points, are still a mathematical chance of making the finals.
Veteran number six Kieran Foran was magnificent for the hosts against a Cowboys outfit that failed to fire.
Cowboys forward Luciano Leilua was also put on report for a shoulder charge on Moeaki Fotuaika.
Dolphins’ finals hopes dive with Titans loss
The Dolphins’ dream of making the NRL finals in their debut season looks shot following a gut-wrenching 23-22 loss to Canterbury in Bundaberg.
Prolific winger Jamayne Isaako had a last-minute chance to kick the Dolphins to victory at Salter Oval on Sunday but, to the devastation of teammates, the competition’s leading point-scorer hooked the conversion attempt from near the right sideline left of the goalposts.
Two second-half tries to the league’s forgotten man Anthony Milford and another to cult figure Valynce Te Whare helped the Dolphins regain the lead in a seesawing encounter.
Alas for fans of the premiership newcomers, a 69th-minute try to winger Blake Wilson off a suspect forward pass from halfback Toby Sexton ultimately earned Canterbury the two precious competition points.
The Bulldogs’ victory almost certainly also consigned Wests Tigers to back-to-back wooden spoons.
The bottom-placed Tigers now trail the second-last St George Illawarra by four points with five games remaining, with the Bulldogs six clear of Tim Sheens’ cellar dwellers with a bye to come plus a more comfortable run home.
The Tigers will likely need to fashion three improbable wins from their remaining matches against Canberra, the Warriors, the Dolphins, Sydney Roosters and Manly to avoid a second straight spoon.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, will be lamenting blowing an early 8-0 lead and missing a golden opportunity to climb to within two points of the top eight.
Isaako had given Wayne Bennett’s side a dream start with a try, conversion and penalty inside the opening quarter of an hour.
But Canterbury hit back with tries to Viliame Kikau and Braidon Burns and a late field goal from Matt Burton to take an 11-8 lead to the break.
The lead changed hands twice in the second half but the Bulldogs held on.
If the Dolphins do miss the finals, it will be a bitterly disappointing end to what began as a fairytale maiden campaign in the NRL.
The Redcliffe outfit were the surprise competition leaders after winning their opening three games and were still in the top eight after the halfway point of the season.
But with only two wins in the past 10 weeks, the Dolphins now need a miracle to make the playoffs.
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