A last-minute injury to NSW State of Origin star Josh Dugan has soured Cronulla's dramatic 10-9 NRL win over Gold Coast.
Halfback Chad Townsend stepped up to sink a 79th-minute field goal to seal a rare win over bogey side the Titans in a scrappy Saturday evening clash at a wet Cbus Super Stadium.
But the Sharks will be sweating on Dugan. He went down with a suspected leg injury moments before Townsend potted his second field goal to ice back-to-back wins for Cronulla.
Cronulla are already reeling from a star-studded injury list. Co-captain Wade Graham (hamstring) had been set to return against Gold Coast but withdrew due to tightness, re-joining co-captain Paul Gallen (knee) and Luke Lewis (calf) on the sidelines.
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan revealed prop Matt Prior also could have joined them after spending the past three days in hospital battling a blood infection in his arm. But remarkably Prior opted to check out of a Sydney hospital and fly out on Saturday morning to join the team and play against the Titans, making 96m.
The match looked set for golden point when Titans halfback Ash Taylor kicked a 77th-minute field to level the scores at 9-9.
Jai Arrow is tackled by Matt Moylan. Photo / Getty Images
But Townsend capped a fine game with his second one-pointer to ensure Cronulla (4-4 record) stayed in touch with the top eight with a three-tries-to-one win.
"Sometimes that is what you have to do during the year - find wins like tonight," Sharks coach Shane Flanagan said.
"The opposition may be as good as or better than you but you just got to find a way." It was the third consecutive loss for Gold Coast (3-5), while Cronulla recorded just their third victory in eight games against the Titans.
Gold Coast threatened to maintain their hoodoo when hooker Mitch Rein burrowed over from dummy-half in the 44th minute to cut Cronulla's lead to 9-8. But there was no happy homecoming for Gold Coast, who were playing their first Carrara game since round one due to the Commonwealth Games.
The Titans failed to fire, with Bryce Cartwright shifted to five-eighth at the expense of Kane Elgey, but lock Jai Arrow (179m, 29 tackles) was outstanding for Gold Coast.
"It is disappointing putting in our best defensive effort of the year and not come away with a win but I was comfortable with Bryce's effort with (halves partner) Ash tonight," Titans coach Garth Brennan said.
Andrew Fifita of the Sharks celebrates winning the round eight NRL match between the Gold Coast Titans and Cronulla Sharks. Photo / Getty Images
Cronulla grabbed a 9-2 halftime buffer after winger Valentine Holmes continued his stunning try-scoring run.
After Titans No.1 Michael Gordon spilled a Townsend bomb, Holmes scored in the 12th minute — his fifth try in four games this year and seventh in as many matches against Gold Coast.
Besides Dugan, Titans back-rower Will Matthews and Cronulla's Scott Sorensen (both concussion) may also be in doubt for next week.
Cowboys in crisis as Raiders pull off massive upset
Iosia Soliola waves to the crowd after winning the round eight NRL match between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Canberra Raiders. Photo / Getty Images
They might be sweating on hooker Josh Hodgson's return but Canberra appear to have a handy replacement with Siliva Havili inspiring a drought-breaking 18-8 NRL win over North Queensland in Townsville.
The Raiders snapped a nine-match losing streak against the Cowboys on Saturday night when Havili bulldozed his way over in the 73rd minute. It marked Canberra's first win over North Queensland since round 12, 2006. The Raiders announced this week they hoped to welcome England international Hodgson back from a knee reconstruction in round 16.
And it seemed the scheming hooker's return couldn't come soon enough after Canberra slumped to a 2-5 record before lining up against their bogey side. But Havili's heroics from dummy-half helped Canberra bounce back from a last- round 44-22 thrashing by South Sydney, chiming in with an outstanding defensive display that limited the star-studded Cowboys to one try on their home turf. "It was gutsy. I am so proud of how they won tonight, off the back of an individual effort," said Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.
"The contribution of every individual effort went toward a team result." Havili was given the green light despite referee Henry Perenara sending the decision upstairs recommending a "no try" after the ball came loose over the line.
However, replays appeared to show Havili grounding the ball on the tryline before losing possession.
Jason Taumalolo looks on. Photo / Getty Images
It marked the sixth loss in seven games for a battling North Queensland (2-6 record).
"We are not far off cracking sides open but we just couldn't nail our plays," Cowboys co-captain Matt Scott said.
"And it's very hard to excuse some of the tries we conceded. They basically ran over the top of us which is hard to take." The Cowboys threatened to maintain their hoodoo over Canberra when they regained the lead 8-6 with a 48th-minute Johnathan Thurston penalty.
But the Raiders kicked ahead when playmaker Aidan Sezer took on the line to score an individual try in the 50th minute before Havili's heroics. North Queensland drew first blood when Gavin Cooper ran off Thurston to score in the 15th minute.
