On a perfect sunny afternoon in Auckland, the home side were nowhere near their best, with a patchy display full of mistakes, penalties and poor options.
There was always going to be growing pains with a completely new team – full of NRLW rookies – but the defensive work simply wasn’t good enough.
Whether it was the first-up contact, the structure or the awareness, they were found wanting, conceding some soft tries.
Given their modest roster, Gold Coast were excellent but they took advantage of an off-colour display from the Warriors.
It was a day when almost nothing went right – with no charity from the referee either – as most individuals struggled.
Their attack lacked precision and was often too lateral, trying to go round the defence before they had punched the front door down.
It’s a steep learning curve but this was their most disappointing defeat of the season so far, given the circumstances, ahead of the long trip to face the North Queensland Cowboys next week.
The home side were hurt by some early errors, before the Titans opened the scoring in the fifth minute. It was a short-side ambush – a good move but one that should have been covered – with Lily Paston diving over in the right corner, before Lauren Brown converted from the sideline.
Their second try 10 minutes later was almost a carbon copy, as the right edge was caught napping after players had been dragged in by a powerful run from Sarina Masaga, allowing winger Georgia Grey a routine finish.
The Warriors were struggling for momentum. They had promising periods but were constantly slowed in the ruck, while the Titans were making the tackles that mattered.
The sense that things were going badly astray was accentuated with the third Gold Coast try, as Lily-Rose Kolc was allowed to score untouched. It was partly due to the mountain of defensive work they had done but still an ominous sign.
They needed something – and got a bonus – when Patricia Maliepo’s kickoff was bounced long but Emmanita Paki couldn’t make the most of it in the next set, dropping an inch-perfect grubber over the tryline.
Finally there was some hope just before halftime, with a brilliant try to Payton Takimoana, after a sharp pass from Maliepo and clever offload from Paki.
The frustrating pattern continued after the break, with errors and indiscipline, while Maliepo was sent for an HIA after a blow to the side of the head (she later returned).
Titans fullback Jamie Chapman then managed an opportunist if controversial try, as she forced her way over despite the attention of three defenders in the 42nd minute. Two tacklers had appeared to drop off – thinking the play was complete – but referee Mitch Currie thought otherwise. Either way, the lack of intent from the home side was telling.
A strong try to Warriors debutante Metanoia Fotu-Moala, as she bustled over near the posts, gave a glimmer of hope with 10 minutes remaining – especially when the Titans fluffed the subsequent kickoff to invite more opportunities. Unfortunately none were taken and the visitors managed the game from there.
Warriors 10 (Payton Takimoana, Metanoia Fotu-Moala tries; Patricia Maliepo con)
Titans 20 (Lily Patston, Georgia Grey, Lily-Rose Kolc, Jaime Chapman tries; Lauren Brown 2 cons)
HT: 4-14
