Organisers are breathing a little easier after hosts the Warriors squeezed into the Auckland Nines finals on Sunday.
The Warriors had to win their final pool match and rely on another result to go their way after suffering a shock 23-19 loss to Canberra on Saturday.
However, the Kiwi outfit gave their adoring Eden Park fans plenty to cheer about, ending Wests Tigers’ unbeaten run with a 22-8 victory thanks to two great long-range tries to Solomone Kata.
Gold Coast then upset the hosts’ nearest finals threat Canberra, ensuring the Warriors (2-1 record, +17 points) moved into the quarter-finals along with the pool-topping Wests Tigers (2-1, +18).
The top two teams from the four pools qualify for the quarter-finals.
The Titans won their first game without strike weapons David Mead (ankle) and Aidan Sezer (eye).
Parramatta (3-0, +13) also added to their horror injury toll but kept winning to top their pool ahead of Newcastle (2-1, +8).
The Eels lost Ken Edwards (knee) on Sunday after Brad Takairangi (ankle) and Kaysa Pritchard (pectoral) fell on the opening day.
A star-studded South Sydney (3-0, +24) topped their group ahead of defending champions North Queensland (2-1, +8), who squeezed into the quarter-finals with a 14-8 victory over a win-less Penrith on Sunday.
Surprise packets Cronulla (3-0, +36) topped their pool ahead of Sydney Roosters (2-1) when they downed the tri-colours 20-14 in their final group match.
Capping coach Wayne Bennett’s official return for the Broncos, a young Brisbane finally got off the mark with a 13-0 win over the Bulldogs.
Another big disappointment was Manly (0-3, -11).
They were determined not to finish the tournament red-faced, with coach Geoff Toovey risking injury to Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran by playing his superstars in their dead rubber against Newcastle on Sunday.
But the Sea Eagles still lost their final pool match 20-17 to the Knights (2-1, +8) who leapfrogged the Dragons (2-1, -3) to finish second behind Parramatta in their pool and book a quarter-final berth.
In the quarter-finals, Parramatta play North Queensland, Newcastle face South Sydney, Wests Tigers take on the Roosters and the Warriors battle Cronulla.
