KEY POINTS:
The Warriors showed a growing maturity to weather everything the Titans could throw at them on the Gold Coast before piling on 14 points in an explosive five-minute burst that proved they have turned a corner.
They didn't panic when down 0-6 throughout the first half nor when up 14-6 15 minutes into the second spell. And nor did they shut up shop after that, going on to a win coach Ivan Cleary described as probably their best of the season. "Coming in with no points at halftime I was a little bit worried we might need to look for something new but we just stuck with it and we were pretty good the second half," Cleary said.
"We could have tried to find a new way but we didn't. We had trust in what we were doing and that's why it was so satisfying a win."
Captain Steve Price was in the stands watching, as the Warriors will be on Wednesday night when he plays for Queensland.
Price and 17,607 others saw the Titans self-destruct under pressure and suffer what the Warriors did in their six-game losing streak - the home team gave away 10 penalties to five and made 341 tackles to the Warriors' 269.
The Warriors' third win in a row means they can challenge for a playoff place as they head into the final third of the season. They stay in Queensland this week to play the North Queensland Cowboys next Saturday night. They carry no injuries and so no changes are likely bar Price. They host the Dragons, Knights, Eagles and Titans and play away to the Roosters, Tigers, Raiders and Panthers in their remaining games.
The Warriors' defence has generally been solid; it is the attack that has improved and won matches for them. They have scored 88 points in three consecutive wins and conceded just 26.
"We haven't really done too much differently," Cleary said. "We probably unlocked ourselves a little bit. When you're losing you probably lose a bit of confidence. Just having the confidence to pass when it's on, that's all that's changed."
The Warriors forwards dominated their opposites. Young Sam Rapira stepped up to replace Price's ground gain, making 179 metres, bettered only by fullback Wade McKinnon with 176m. Evarn Tuimavave, Logan Swann and Epalahame Lauaki all had big games. Around the big men, hooker Nathan Fien delivered lethal passes that put players in holes.
The Warriors created plenty but great scramble and defence on the line from the Titans held them out, and vice versa. Mat Rogers chipped over the defence and had support to the try-line but the Warriors produced desperation tackles to stop the move.
Rapira broke through at 48 minutes, carrying four defenders and extending his arm to just get to the chalk as he was pulled down. He looks a definite long-term Kiwis prospect.
Cleary said the stop on Rogers' move in the first half and Rapira's try were the turning points. "I was pretty happy when we saved that try. Our defence has been pretty good, we've worked hard on it. There were good signs in the first half but we were getting a bit rattled towards the end, we couldn't finish off and there were some poor decisions," the coach said.
"We needed a breakthrough and Sammy got that for us. We were pretty dominant after that. We had to work harder for the win than last weekend, which is not a bad thing."
Titans coach John Cartwright said a strong defence in the first half won the game for the Warriors. Mat Rogers is on report for a high shot on Louis Anderson.
THE STATS
Warriors
Score: 22
Penalties: 10
Tackles: 269
Missed tackles: 20
Line breaks: 5
Off-loads: 20
Errors: 14
Titans
Score: 6
Penalties: 5
Tackles: 341
Missed tackles: 55
Line breaks: 1
Off-loads: 7
Errors: 15
