Canberra Raiders 22
Greg Bird kicked a field goal in golden point extra time to give the Gold Coast their first win of the season in a thriller in Canberra last night.
The Raiders led 22-16 before the Titans scored a converted try after the final siren and Bird administered the coup de grace with his winning kick four minutes into extra time.
Canberra went into the game as favourites against the bottom-placed Titans, who had lost their first three matches. Both sides were hit by injuries in a game which went down to the wire.
Already weakened by the absence of Ashley Harrison and Nathan Friend, the Titans suffered another blow through the late withdrawal of key playmaker Scott Prince.
But it was the Titans who scored first, Bird dummying and crashing through three tackles. The Raiders equalised when fullback Josh Duggan beat tackle after tackle and centre Joel Thompson finished off.
The Titans regained the lead in the 28th minute when, after a poor set of six by the Raiders, the Titans swooped and Brad Meyers crashed over under the posts.
The Raiders struck back just before the break, Daniel Vidot scoring against the run of play when he latched on to a clever grubber by Josh McCrone, but the Titans were well worth their 12-10 halftime lead.
All the first half statistics favoured the Raiders but it was the Titans who were the hungrier and more intense. The Raiders needed inspiration and Jarrod Croker provided it 15 minutes into the second half. He ran on the angle from a scrum, beat two tacklers and scored wide out. His conversion gave the Raiders the lead for the first time, 16-12.
But the Raiders jubilation was short-lived, Bodene Thompson scoring for the Titans four minutes later after a mistake by David Shillington. Bird's conversion attempt rebounded from an upright and it was 16-all going into the last quarter.
Canberra struck again 14 minutes from the end, Dane Tilse crashing over after he ran on to a pass from McCrone. Croker's conversion made it 22-16.
Once again, a Raiders' mistake saw Anthony Laffranchi capitalise, scoring after the final whistle. Bird converted to level the scores 22-all and send the game into extra time - where his boot sealed victory.
Canberra 22 (J. Thompson, D. Vidot, J. Croker, D. Tilse tries, Croker 3 goals ); Gold Coast 23 (G. Bird, B. Meyers, B. Thompson, A. Laffranchi tries, P. Campbell 2 goals, G. Bird goal, field goal ). Halftime: Titans 12-10. Fulltime: 22-22.
