Haumole Olakau’atu was unstoppable as the Sea Eagles made it four straight wins in holding off a late Titans fightback on Saturday night.
The emerging back-rower was the man for the Sea Eagles early, scoring two first-half tries as Manly raced to an 18-point lead before leading by 20 at the main break. He finished with two linebreaks, five tackle busts and 100 run metres.
But three unanswered tries for the Titans in the second half set up a thrilling final 15 minutes as Manly held on for a 26-18 win.
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The Gold Coast’s two most damaging forwards, David Fifita and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, each grabbed a late try to give the Titans life when it looked as if Manly would sneak away with a comfortable win.
In the end, errors proved crucial for the Titans.
They finished the game with 10 in total, two of which occurred late when the deficit they were chasing was six points.
The Sea Eagles iced the game with five minutes remaining when Fa’asuamaleaui was penalised for being in an off-side position during a desperate defensive tackle on the goal line, with Manly taking the two points to extend the lead to eight.
Gold Coast had a try disallowed in the final minute when it was deemed Beau Fermor was off side before the put-down.
For the Titans, the defeat marks their third loss in four games.