Playing in their heritage round jerseys, the Warriors led 14-0 at halftime in front of almost 13,000 fans. An early second half try to Simon Mannering sealed the result with almost 30 minutes to play.
However the first half was also plagued by a series of needless errors. In greasy conditions, the Gold Coast were the biggest offenders - including a kick-off that sailed miles beyond the dead ball line - but the Warriors were not much better with a series of needless mistakes releasing the pressure valve.
Nathan Friend played like a man with a point to prove, and shaded his highly touted opposite Matt Srama. McClennan persisted with his tactic of leaving Feleti Mateo on the bench until the second quarter and without him offensively, they looked very lateral and flat. The logic is understandable, using Mateo later against tired defenders, but leaving your best attacker on the bench at the start will continue to raise questions.
After a mixed start, the home side opened the scoring in the 11th minute through Elijah Taylor. The lock burrowed through from close range, after the Titans failed to re-gather a pinpoint Shaun Johnson centre field bomb. Coach McClennan had done his homework - before last night the Titans had conceded more tries from kicks than any other team in the NRL.
Manu Vatuvei soared to claim another Johnson bomb in the 20th minute though the try was rubbed out by the video referee, who judged that Vatuvei's left forearm brushed the sideline a millisecond before the ball was forced. It was a harsh, but probably technically correct call, though just like last week fans will be wondering what has happened to the benefit of doubt for attacking teams.
Neither team came close again until the 32nd minute, when a Kevin Locke cut-out ball sent Vatuvei over in the corner for his third try of the season.
You need to be careful with comparisons but the Warriors fullback resembles Billy Slater more and more with his ability to hit the line at full pace then produce the perfect long pass for his outside men. It is becoming a necessary skill for a No 1 in the modern game and something that Locke has added to his arsenal.
One of the moments of the season so far came in the 60s before halftime, a period of play that illustrated the enduring attraction of the NRL. Titans halfback Scott Prince cut clean through and sent a kick over for his right winger Dominique Peyroux.
Peyroux made a hash of it, Johnson swooped before sending Vatuvei away. The Beast ran from the 30m line - like a runaway locomotive - before being run down a metre short by William Zillman and Nate Myles (an incredible effort from the prop).
Johnson picked up from dummy half, darted back, spun and stepped his way over; a move straight from the touch fields where he learnt his trade. There was a faint hint of a shepherd but the Titans offered no protest.
In the second spell, Simon Mannering scored probably the easiest try of his 150-game NRL career, scooting over untouched from 10 metres out after a deft James Maloney break.
At that point there was still nearly 30 minutes to play but it was hard to see the Titans coming back and so it proved.
For the icing on the cake, Johnson showed deft control to reel in a Titans pass and sprint 50 metres to score in the corner.
Warriors 26 (E.Taylor, M.Vatuvei, S. Johnson 2, S. Mannering tries; J. Maloney 3 goals), Titans 6 (L. O'Dwyer try; S. Prince goal). Halftime:14-0
