Gold Coast players vowed not to blow another halftime lead as they overcame the loss of star fullback AJ Brimson to stun the Sea Eagles 26-10 at 4 Pines Park.
Just six days after surrendering a 26-0 lead to capitulate 28-26 to the Dolphins, the Titans ground out a gutsy win without Brimson (hamstring) in the second half and veteran five-eighth Kieran Foran hobbled by a toe injury.
Foran battled on against his former Manly team-mates to steer the Titans to victory after the Sea Eagles got back to within six points midway through the second half.
Strike forward David Fifita also had a huge impact.
Fifita scored a try and laid on another for rookie winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira, who finished with a first half double to give Gold Coast a 16-2 lead at the break.
However, the Titans had to withstand a Manly fightback early in the second half, as well as the loss of Brimson, and Fifita said the players had spoken about avoiding another collapse.
David Fifita powers over the line
"At halftime we were in the same position; we were up, and we spoke about it as well," Fifita said.
"We were embarrassed last week and hopefully our fans are happy and just keep with us because we are going to keep getting better and learning."
The determination of Titans players to make amends for last weekend's capitulation was clear from the outset, with centre Brian Kelly and five-eighth Kieran Foran holding up Jason Saab over the tryline in the sixth minute.
Desperate Titans save certain try
A ninth minute Rueben Garrick penalty goal was Manly's only first half points as the visitors defended an early onslaught on their own tryline to dominate the opening stanza.
Brimson produced another try saving tackle when he crashed Sea Eagles winger Christian Tuipulotu over the sideline in the 20th minute before strike second-rower David Fifita imposed himself on the game.
What a shot! Brimson saves a try
A catch and pass in one motion from Fifita put rookie Gold Coast winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira for the opening try of the game in the 24th minute and the pressure intensified on Manly when Toafofoa Sipley was sinbinned.
Khan-Periera opens the scoring for the Titans
Sea Eagles hooker Lachlan Croker bravely battled on with a gash under his right eye but he was unable to stop Fifita from crashing over in the 30th minute.
Khan-Pereira then grabbed his second try of the match just before halftime to give the Titans a 16-2 lead at the interval.
With Brimson forced from the field after the break due to a hamstring injury, Manly hit back through captain Daly Cherry-Evans, who produced a 40-20 kick before putting prop Sean Keppie over for a 50th minute try.
Cherry-Evans kicks a 40/20
A second Garrick penalty goal narrowed Gold Coast's lead to 16-10 in the 55th minute but the Titans regained control when winger Phillip Sami outleapt Tuipulotu for a Boyd bomb to score 14 minutes before fulltime.
Gold Coast replacement Jayden Campbell, who came on for Brimson, sealed the win for his side when he broke into the clear near halfway before putting Klese Haas over 10 minutes before fulltime.
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Match snapshot
- The Titans scored first for the seventh time in eight matches when winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira crossed in the 22nd minute.
- Khan-Pereira completed his fourth try scoring double and his ninth try in eight games in his debut season when he dived over in the left corner on the last play of the first half.
- Sea Eagles winger Ruben Garrick averages 16 points per match against the Titans but he was limited to just three goals.
- Manly prop Taniela Paseka ran 89 metres with the ball in the opening 15 minutes and finished with a team high 172 metres from 18 carries.
- Gold Coast halfback Tannah Boyd had missed just two of 33 attempts at goal this season before failing to convert his side's final three tries.
- The Titans have now won six of their last 11 matches at 4 Pines Park Stadium.
Play of the game
Jayden Campbell not only proved the ideal man to have on the interchange after fullback AJ Brimson was forced out of the match with a hamstring injury but he had a significant impact on the win.
Swooping on a loose ball near halfway, Campbell broke into the clear before sending fellow Titans replacement Klese Haas racing away for the match-sealing try in the 70th minute.
Jayden Campbell break sets up Klese Haas
What they said
"We were outplayed, the Titans deserved to win. We started pretty well but we gave a lot of penalties away when we were coming out of yardage. I thought we had enough opportunities. We probably got what we deserved in the end." - Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold.
Sea Eagles: Round 9
"Early in the week it was so hard for us all to try and get up for today to come here because of the disappointment, but what we had to look at hard was that we weren't preparing poorly. You don't lead 26-0 if you are a million miles off, but it felt like we had been blown out of the park, and everyone wanted to bag us. I said, 'listen, we are doing so many things well, we have just got to make better choices when we are under pressure', and I thought we did that tonight." - Titans coach Justin Holbrook.
Titans: Round 9
What's next
The Sea Eagles host the Broncos at their home ground in the second match of the NRL's Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
Manly coach Anthony Seibold will be hoping to have star fullback Tom Trbojevic available after he was a late withdrawal from the Titans clash with a groin injury, along with centre Tolutau Koula, who has been sidelined by a knee injury.
Sipley faces a nervous wait to learn if he will be charged after being placed on report and sinbinned for a crusher tackle on Sami.
Sipley sent to the sin bin
The Titans meet the Eels at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday afternoon and star fullback AJ Brimson is in doubt after coming from the field with a hamstring injury after halftime.
Five-eighth Kieran Foran ignored a toe injury to play on and also had his knee heavily strapped.