Golden point guru: field goal lifts Titans into finals
Margie McDonald |
Lauren Brown has done it again, producing a clutch field goal in golden point to lift Gold Coast into the NRLW finals with a 17-16 win over Canberra.
In a heart-in-mouth moment, Brown safely piloted the ball through the Cbus Stadium goal posts from 31 metres out.
The match-winner raised her arms in triumph before being swamped by teammates, who celebrated as the Titans secured the last finals spot up for grabs at the expense of Parramatta.
Brown kicked two field goals in 2023 to beat Brisbane and St George Illawarra, and again for Queensland in game two of the 2024 State of Origin series to deny NSW a series win.
“It’s hard to put into words that rollercoaster … but Loz (Brown) did her thing in the end,” Titans coach Karyn Murphy said.
“It felt like finals footy today. We knew the situation we were in and the girls found a way.”
The Titans had to win the match to leapfrog the Eels into sixth spot and will now face North Queensland or Newcastle in an elimination final next weekend.
Parramatta would have been on the edge of their seats as the Raiders held a 16-10 lead until two minutes from the whistle, when Gold Coast five-eighth Taliah Fuimaono scored to force the match into extra time.
It was tit-for-tat tries early before a burst of Raiders points close to halftime, through tries by fullback Elise Simpson and forward Amelia Pasikala, put the Green Machine 16-8 ahead at the break.
But the visitors weren’t able to score in the second half.
A double by rookie winger Phoenix-Raine Hippi, who turned 19 on Friday, was another highlight for the Titans.
In Saturday’s earlier game, Broncos fullback Tamika Upton left an ominous calling card on the eve of the finals with a hat-trick in a 50-4 defeat of the Cowboys to wrap up her side’s regular season in spectacular fashion.
The Jillaroos No.1 scored a hat-trick – her second for the season – to make it 18 tries in 11 matches, putting her in scintillating form as the Broncos try to wrangle a fourth NRLW premiership.
The match was virtually over at halftime as the Broncos took a 30-0 lead into the sheds off the back of five tries all converted by Romy Teitzel.
The goal-kicking second rower ended up with 14 points from seven conversions, breaking 100 points (106) for the first time in her six-year NRLW career.
The rampage at Brisbane’s Totally Workwear Stadium didn’t stop after the break with Broncos centre Julia Robinson scoring three minutes into the second half before Upton got her third shortly after.
Coach Scott Prince then pulled Upton from the field in the 44th minute, giving his star a lengthy rest even though the Broncos have week one of the finals off alongside the Sydney Roosters after finishing in the top two.
It took the Cowboys 61 minutes to break the Broncos line via a sleek ball-shift down their right edge for Jasmine Peters to cross.
AAP
