Match report: Cronulla Sharks 12-18 Gold Coast Titans

In a nutshell
A 72nd minute try from full-back William Zillman was enough to give Gold Coast Titans a winning start to the 2014 NRL season.

How it unfolded
First half: Luke Douglas plays his 195th straight NRL game, now the record holder; not the start Gold Coast wanted – they knock on 10m short of Cronulla line; Titans’ Beau Falloon denied by video ref for incorrect grounding; Sharks get in Titans half for first time and score through Arona, Gorson converts; Sharks look to be over again but video ref rules that Jonathan Wright dropped the ball; a quick tap sees Bird score against his old team, 6-6 with 15 minutes left of first half; Kely intercepts ball on Titans’ line and races 100m to score, conversion missed but Titans go into interval 10-6 up and Australia international Paul Gallen limps off.

Second half: Sharks ruled out by video ref 10 minutes into second half; Wade Graham goes over to level the scores before Gordon adds the extras, making it 12-10; Titans slot penalty goal to tie the scores again; Andrew Fifita goes on report for a shoulder charge; Titans go ahead through Zillman thanks to yet another video referee decision, open up a six-point lead thanks to a Sezer conversion; Sezer then attempts a drop-goal but misses; Sharks try their hardest to get it to golden point but cannot manage it.

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