A last-minute injury to NSW State of Origin star Josh Dugan has soured Cronulla’s dramatic 10-9 NRL win over Gold Coast.
Halfback Chad Townsend stepped up to sink a 79th-minute field goal to seal a rare win over bogey side the Titans in a scrappy Saturday evening clash at a wet Cbus Super Stadium.
But the Sharks will be sweating on Dugan. He went down with a suspected leg injury moments before Townsend potted his second field goal to ice back-to-back wins for Cronulla.
Cronulla are already reeling from a star-studded injury list.
Co-captain Wade Graham (hamstring) had been set to return against Gold Coast but withdrew due to tightness, re-joining co-captain Paul Gallen (knee) and Luke Lewis (calf) on the sidelines.
The match looked set for golden point when Titans halfback Ash Taylor kicked a 77th-minute field to level the scores at 9-9.
But Townsend capped a fine match with his second one-pointer to ensure Cronulla (4-4 record) stayed in touch with the top eight with a three-tries-to-one win.
It was the third-consecutive loss for Gold Coast (3-5), while Cronulla recorded just their third victory in eight games against the Titans.
Gold Coast threatened to maintain their hoodoo when hooker Mitch Rein burrowed over from dummy-half in the 44th minute to cut Cronulla’s lead to 9-8.
Cronulla grabbed a 9-2 halftime buffer after winger Valentine Holmes continued his stunning try-scoring run.
After Titans No.1 Michael Gordon spilled a Townsend bomb, Holmes scored in the 12th minute – his fifth try in four games this year and seventh in as many matches against Gold Coast.
Townsend and Dugan combined to put Edrick Lee over in the 33rd minute before Townsend booted his first field goal right on halftime.
Gold Coast back-rower Will Matthews failed a concussion test and did not play in the second half, while Cronulla’s Scott Sorensen suffered a late head knock.