Titans fall just short in final game of season

The Gold Coast Titans couldn't chase down a Canberra Raiders lead to send out veteran winger Karina Brown as a winner in her final game today.

Despite a Sienna Lofipo try with three to play setting up a thrilling finish, the Gold Coast were ultimately left to rue poor goalkicking on a day in which they scored the same number of tries as their opponent but failed to add the extras on any of their three attempts. 

Early on it was a horror start for Karina Brown in the final game of her illustrious career which set the Green Machine up for first points, with her fumbled kick reception leading to Monalisa Soliola going over out wide on the next set.

A try for Warriors-bound fullback Apii Nicholls followed after Temara passed her into a gap, and the Raiders would have considered themselves unlucky not to have led by more than 10, with a last-ditch Jaime Chapman punch of the ball out and a forward pass call all that denied Shakiah Tungai an early double. 

Handling errors from both sides left the game in a holding pattern for the second part of the opening stanza, but a minute out from the break Sarina Masaga powered through an attempted Cheyelle Robins-Reti tackle to cross and reduce her side's deficit to 10-4. 

While they began the second half with a new lease on life, the wheels quickly fell off again for the Titans when Canberra were awarded a penalty try after Montgomery contacted Ashleigh Quinlan as she attempted to ground the ball over the line and the Bunker intervened. 

But Karyn Murphy's charges refused to go away, hitting back through a spirited Taliah Fuimaono run 15 from time, although with the ensuing conversion attempt wide of the mark it remained a two-score deficit. 

The Titans' cause wasn't helped by Fuimaono then being ruled out by an eye injury picked up in the act of scoring, and while Lofipo's effort with three to go gave the Gold Coast some late hope, it wasn't to be as the Raiders held on for their third win of the year. 

Match Snapshot

• Raiders playmaker Zahara Temara ticked over 200 career points early in the second half when she converted a penalty try for her side. 
• In her 28th appearance at NRLW level Apii Nicholls celebrated scoring her first try midway through the first half, adding to a big individual game which included some telling interventions in defence. 
• The Titans have now lost six of their past seven games, marking a big fall from grace after finishing as beaten grand finalists a year ago. 
• Gold Coast five-eighth Taliah Fuimaono was ruled out after scoring a try with 15 minutes to go due to an eye injury. 
• The Titans have now lost six of their past seven games, marking a big fall from grace after finishing as beaten grand finalists a year ago. 
• Titans captain Georgia Hale made 49 tackles with a miss in the defeat, while Chante Temara led the way for her side defensively with 32.
• Gold Coast five-eighth Taliah Fuimaono was ruled out after scoring a try with 15 minutes to go due to an eye injury.