Canberra have continued their push towards the NRL finals, defeating struggling Gold Coast 36-24 at CBUS Super Stadium.
The Raiders moved into ninth position on the ladder with the seven tries to four victory on Saturday, their fourth win from their past five starts.
Nick Cotric and Sebastien Kris scored doubles for the visitors as the Raiders racked up their highest score of the season, while Jayden Campbell’s own try-scoring double was mere consolation for the Titans.
Lock Adam Elliott was impressive with 126 running metres for the Raiders but limped off early in the second half with a leg injury and failed to return in a potential headache for Canberra coach Ricky Stuart.
In-form front-rower Joseph Tapine may also find himself in hot water with the judiciary after he was sin-binned in the first half for throwing a punch at Titan David Fifita in an off-the-ball scuffle.
Former Titan Jamal Fogarty also picked up a try-assist as well as eight points off the boot in his first match back on the Gold Coast following his off-season move to the Raiders.
Defeat is Gold Coast’s ninth in a row and will only increase the pressure on under-fire coach Justin Holbrook as the Titans battle to avoid a second wooden spoon in four years.
Things began ominously for the hosts when Matthew Timoko ran through a massive hole in the Titans defence to open the scoring in the fifth minute.
But Gold Coast regrouped when Tanah Boyd’s grubberkick in the 12th minute bounced up into the grateful arms of Brian Kelly, who crossed untouched to level the scores.
The Titans then thought they’d snatched the lead after Beau Fermor dived on an Aaron Booth kick only for the bunker to rule out the try having deemed the Gold Coast backrower bobbled his grounding.
Cotric’s quickfire double pushed the Raiders to a 16-6 lead, with the winger’s first a great finish after a sharp catch to snare Hudson Young’s flick-pass.
The game then had a flashpoint when Tapine took exception to Booth attacking his legs as he was being held in a two-man tackle.
The Raiders’ prop flung the Titans’ hooker to the floor in retaliation then swung a punch at Fifita when the Gold Coast star ran to his teammate’s assistance.
For his reaction, Tapine was sent to the sin bin and the Titans made the one-man advantage count on the stroke of halftime when Boyd scurried over from dummy-half to ensure the hosts were down by four points at the break.
Canberra restored their 10-point lead early in the second half when Young pounced on Fogarty’s grubberkick, before a second flick-pass from Young in the 51st minute sent Kris over after good work in the build-up by Jack Wighton.
The Titans kept themselves in the hunt when Campbell finished off a Beau Fermor line-break in the 56th minute but when Tapine took four Titans over the tryline to score in the 66th minute, the premiership points were safe.
Kris and then Campbell added one more each for either team before fulltime as the Raiders prepare to face Nathan Cleary-less Penrith in Canberra next Saturday.
Gold Coast have a daunting trip to Melbourne to play the Storm next Friday.
