Titans snatch last gasp win against Sharks to continue unbeaten run
A 69th minute Hailee-Jay Ormond-Maunsell try enabled the Titans to maintain their unbeaten start to the NRLW season with a 10-8 defeat of the Sharks at PointsBet Stadium.
Trailing 8-0 at halftime, the Titans did not lead at any time in the match until Ormond-Maunsell dived over to score with just 90 seconds on the clock and snatch victory after fullback Evania Pelite combined with halfback Sienna Lofipo.
Pelite was a standout, while Lofipo was involved in both Gold Coast tries and 18-year-old forward Rilee Jorgensen made a huge impact from the interchange with some bruising tackles.
Match: Sharks v Titans
Round 3 -
home Team
Sharks
7th Position
away Team
Titans
1st Position
Venue: PointsBet Stadium, Sydney
The last gasp win followed last weekend's golden point triumph against the Broncos and the Titans have now won three consecutive matches in the NRLW for the first time since their induction in 2021.
Pelite ran a game high 200 metres with the ball, including 71 post contact metres, and finished the game with eight tackle breaks.
However, the Sharks dominated the early exchanges and were rewarded when Kiana Takairangi scored in the corner in the 14th minute after a perfectly weighted pass from five-eighth Emma Tonegato and quick hands out wide.
With Tayla Preston missing the conversion attempt from near the sideline, the Sharks led 4-0.
Cronulla were over again in the 26th minute after a fast shift of the ball to fullback Andie Robinson, whose pace and determination resulted in a try in the right-side corner.
Match highlights: Sharks v Titans
Another missed conversion attempt by Preston saw the Sharks leading 8-0.
The visitors lifted their intensity when Jorgensen came on from the bench, and she immediately made her presence felt with some strong tackles, including one which left Tonegato gasping for breath after passing the ball.
The first half was full of errors and penalties, although it was an evenly distributed completion rate with both teams completing at over 75 percent.
The Titans came out firing in the second half and had the first opportunity to score, only for Kiwi Ferns lock Georgia Hale to be ruled to have been short of the line in the 44th minute.
Gold Coast didn’t have to wait long before being awarded their first try of the match with Shaylee Bent scoring in the 45th minute after a failed strip by Holli Wheeler forced the ball loose from Lofipo.
Bent leaps on a loose ball
Lauren Brown's conversion reduced the visitor's deficit to 8-6 and they finished stronger than the Sharks.
A Pelite offload and a short ball from Lofipo created space for Hailee-Jay Ormond-Maunsell scored to score in the 69th minute and put the Titans ahead for the first time in the match.
Ormond-Maunsell with the match-winner
Match snapshot
- Jillaroos World Cup forward Holli Wheeler made an impressive Sharks NRLW debut after recovering from knee surgery and ran 97 metres in 49 minutes.
- Cronulla second-rower Vanessa Foliaki failed to finish the match after being forced from the field for a HIA in the 56th minute.
- The crowd for the first stand-alone NRLW match at PointsBet Stadium was 3029.
