Gold Coast Titans go from bad to worse as Scott Drinkwater fires Cowboys
The Titans have endured a coastal capitulation at the hands of a Scott Drinkwater-inspired Cowboys to heap more misery on a Gold Coast team languishing at the bottom of the ladder.
Gold Coast unraveled in front of 13,882 spectators in wet conditions at Cbus Super Stadium on Sunday to go down 30-24 and lose even more ground on the top eight that now sits three wins outside its reach.
The win alleviates some of the pressure on Cowboys coach Todd Payten and while North Queensland remain 12th on the ladder, the club is only one point from eighth-placed Dolphins.
The Cowboys shot out to an early 12-0 lead in the first half before a knock-on from Reece Robson opened the door for the Titans to score as North Queensland struggled to retain possession.
Todd Payten's side came out firing in the second to regain control but instead of putting the game away they let the Titans get within six points before sneaking away with the win.
DRINKWATER THE DIFFERENCE
Scott Drinkwater was the difference between the two sides.
The fullback scored twice, had his hand in another with a delicate kick and made two line breaks in a huge display.
On an afternoon where skills were at a premium and execution was a rarity, Drinkwater was a calm head under pressure and composed with ball in hand.
He took the high balls without fault and his ability to pop up at the right moment proved to be game-deciding.
SCRUM SCRAMBLE
The NRL needs to step in to stop teams conceding penalties from scrums in order to set its defensive line.
It is an absolute blight on the game and every team is at fault.
Sides are intentionally getting penalised when just outside their own tryline in order to increase its numbers on the line and increase their recovery time.
Sin bins should be brought in to send a message to sides attempting to rort the system.
WEAVER GROWING INTO HIS ROLE
Tom Weaver has shown enormous improvement and should be knocking on the door for a regular starting role in the near future.
The Titans playmaker has put on size and showed maturity with his decision making, provided a strong kicking game and was a threat when running the ball.
Kieran Foran didn't actually take many kicks for the entire game, handing over the kicking duties to Weaver on the fifth tackle.
Jayden Campbell will be available when the Titans return after the bye to play the Broncos but Weaver has shown he is a genuine star of the future at NRL level.
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