The Canberra Raiders have suffered a 30-28 defeat at the hands of the Gold Coast Titans at CBUS Super Stadium.
Three tries in the opening ten minutes gave the Raiders an 18-0 lead as Sivila Havili opened the scoring on his club debut.
Sam Williams had a hand in the following two tries as Jack Wighton and Elliott Whitehead crossed the line.
The Titans’ hit back on the 15 minute mark as Ash Taylor drew in the defence before passing to Kevin Proctor who barged his way over.
The Raiders were dealt a blow when captain Jarrod Croker had to be taken from the field to be assessed for concussion but he was able to return to the field later in the half.
Desperate defence from Sia Soliola and Whitehead prevented Konrad Hurrell scoring what looked to be a certain try before more Williams’ brilliance.
The halfback threw an inside pass for Junior Paulo for a four pointer with Aidan Sezer taking over the goal kicking in Croker’s absence.
The Raiders went into halftime with a 24-12 lead as Kane Elgey pegged one back for the Titans’ after he latched onto an Ash Taylor grubber.
The Titans started the second half the stronger of the two teams and scored when Phillip Sami crossed the line after receiving a cutout pass from Taylor.
Dale Copley brought the scores to within two points as he scored down the left edge but Gordon missed the resulting conversion. However, Gordon levelled the scores shortly afterwards with a goal on the back of a penalty.
The Raiders took back the lead when Rapana tapped a towering cross-field kick from Austin into the grateful hands of Leilua who planted the ball in the corner.
However a last minute try to Hurrell levelled the scores before Gordon sealed the win with a simple conversion.
Gold Coast Titans 30 (Tries: Proctor, Elgey, Sami, Copley, Hurrell Goals: Gordon 5) def Canberra Raiders 28 (Tries: Havili, Wighton, Whitehead, Paulo, Leilua Goals: Croker 3, Sezer
