Gold Coast Titans put Daly Cherry-Evans saga behind them with win over Wests Tigers

The Titans may have thought their halves woes had ended when Daly Cherry-Evans left them at the altar, but more pressing for the Gold Coast will be the short-term futures of Kane Elgey and Aidan Sezer following their 27-20 win against Wests Tigers.

The Titans survived a second-half onslaught from the Tigers, who raced in 18 points in 12 minutes to snatch an unlikely second-half lead before Anthony Don turned form villain to hero to score the try that would give the Titans the win. While the Titans may have taken the two competition points, their halves dilemma could continue.  

Elgey faces an extended stint on the sidelines with a suspected syndesmosis injury after he limped from the field shortly after scoring a first-half try. Five-eighth Sezer, meanwhile, was placed on report for swearing at opposite number Mitchell Moses in the Titans four-tries-to-three to win in front of 7103 fans at Leichhardt Oval.

Sore one: Titans half Aidan Sezer limps off after being hit in a high tackle. Photo: Getty Images

It is understood Sezer called out to Moses, "You think you're a tough c---, bro". The exchange was picked up in the referees microphones after the Tigers were awarded a penalty, with Sezer unhappy that Moses pushed Ryan James to help draw in the play the ball to draw the foul.  

After a solid start to the season, the Tigers continue to lose touch with the top eight, with this their fourth consecutive loss. Their kicking game was awry, while fundamental defensive misses proved costly.

The Titans took advantage of their first set inside the Tigers 20 metres, when a neat dummy and left foot step by Sezer saw him split through weak defence by Tigers bookends Aaron Woods and Sauaso Sue after 10 minutes.

Titanic effort: Gold Coast forward Dave Taylor barrels into the Tigers' line. Photo: Getty Images

Sezer's partner in crime Elgey would finish off his own movement to lay on the next points. Elgey threw a cut-out pass to winger Don, who used his pace to get on the outside of veteran Pat Richards before passing the ball back for Elgey to score.

• Taylor says Tigers aren't up to NRL standard at times

The four-pointer proved costly for Elgey, who hurt himself during play. He tried to play on, but lasted about five more minutes before coming from the field. The Tigers' best chance for a try came when replacement hooker Manaia Cherrington looked to have scored on debut.

Referee Ashley Klein was overruled by the video referees, who ruled Cherrington was held up. The Gold Coast blew a chance of their own when Eddy Pettybourne fumbled over the try line.

The Titans would again take advantage of a Tigers defensive lapse to add the final points of the half. After causing South Sydney's Bryson Goodwin plenty of heartache last weekend, James Roberts' touches were surprisingly limited in the first half.

But when he was given the opportunity, he took advantage of it when he easily shrugged off rookie Delouise Hoeter to give the Titans a 16-2 lead.

The Titans added a penalty goal and field goal to start the second half scoring. It was Sezer's strange one point option which changed the game. From the restart, winger Don mistimed his foot position to carry the ball over the dead ball line as he searched for a penalty. The consequences were near dire.

Chris Lawrence would end his year long try scoring drought to score a double while James Tedesco would score the other to give the Tigers a one point lead with 14 minutes to go.

The Tigers were denied a win when Don raced 40 metres to score.