NRL 2021: Heroic Warriors defence sees them clinically beat Gold Coast Titans

Rock-solid defence was the cornerstone of the hard-fought Warriors victory over the Gold Coast Titans in their NRL season opener at Central Coast Stadium.  

In Nathan Brown's first game in charge, the new coach will be proud of his charges as they withstood five forced drop-outs and mountains of Titans attack. 

Three Warriors tries through hard work and determination was enough to see them past Gold Coast 19-6. 

Gosford put on a stellar day with temperatures topping 30C, which forced drink-breaks at the 20-minute mark of each half. 

The first 15 minutes was energy-sapping with both sides going set-for-set with just one stoppage of play. 

A lot of talk had been around the forward packs of both sides and they stood up with Addin Fonua-Blake particularly impressive running for 202 metres and five tackle busts. 

Neither team had issues barging their way downfield but final play execution stopped points from being posted. 

After 27-minutes, Bayley Sironen - one of the Warriors new signings that was on show - crashed over on debut for his new club. 

Hooker Wayde Egan - who went off midway through the second half after failing a concussion test - delivered a nice short pass for a charging Sironen who spun through three tackles to crash over. 

The Titans came home strong at the back-end of the first half, forcing with three repeat sets but ruthless defence from the home side saw them take a 6-0 lead to the sheds. 

The first 10 minutes of the second half was all Titans but more heroic Warriors defence kept Gold Coast at bay. 

Then 13-minutes into the second stanza, Lesson Ah Mau - who missed 18 games last season with a long-term injury - crashed over to extend his side's lead. 

The sides continued to trade seats in the sapping conditions and the hard work of the Warriors paid off. 

With nine minutes remaining, Kodi Nikorima sealed the deal for his side. 

Bunty Afoa charged onto a short ball from Chanel Harris-Tavita and he stuck his head through the line. The big forward gots his arms free and offloaded to Nikorima who strolled over next to the posts.

Harris-Tavita put the icing on the cake with a late field goal to continue to build fortress Central Coast Stadium where the Warriors have won nine of the ten encounters over the past year there. 

The Titans got a late try through Corey Thompson but it was too little too late. 

The Warriors will continue building their fortress when they face the Newcastle Knights on Friday at home. 

Warriors 19 (Sironen, Ah Mau, Nikorima tries; Nikorima 3 conversions, Harris-Tavita field goal) bt 6 Gold Coast Titans (Thompson try; Fogarty conversion)

Join us at 8pm on Friday for live updates as the Warriors take on the Newcastle Knights