NZ Warriors - 0 Gold Coast Titans - 44
FULLTIME - And the match comes to a merciful end for the Warriors and their fans. They truly saved their worst for last. The Titans have locked up the eighth and final playoff spot with the biggest win in club history.
Click here for a full wrap and highlights
78 mins - TRY TITANS
Moeaki Fotuaika does brilliantly to chase down a Herbert kick from 30m out to add one final nail to the Warriors' coffin. (Titns 44-0)
77 mins
Hiku does well to escape danger in his own in goal and get back into the field of play. Three minutes guys. Hang in there.
71 mins - TRY TITANS
Preston Campbell Jr at it again, latches on to a loose ball on his own line and streaks 95m clear to score. (Titans 38-0)
68 mins - TRY TITANS
Former Warriors back Patrick Herbert adds further insult to injury and cashes in on a big overlap to slide over in the corner. (Titans 32-0)
66 mins
Here we go again! Lodge is pinged for a late tackle and the Titans swarm in to confront him. He's sent to the bin for his troubles, as is Kane Evans. Wow. 13 v 10 out there now.
Lodge flips the bird to the crowd as he departs. This is all a bit sad.
64 mins
It's boiling over here now! Both teams engage in a heated pushing and shoving match, after Jazz Tevaga and Reece Walsh took exception with a Titans tackle on Rocco Berry.
Tevaga pays the price with a sinbinning.
61 mins
Things are heating up as the rain starts to tumble on the Gold Coast, as Matt Lodge exchanges pleasantries with his opposites. Plenty of extra vigour in some of these tackles now.
55 mins - TRY TITANS
Second man play, Campbell again amongst the action with a deft final pass to send Brian Kelly over in the corner. Fogarty nails the sidleine conversion. (Titans 28-0)
53 mins
Kane Evans penalised for leading with his elbows in the tackle. On report, he goes. A familiar place for the Warriors front-row this season. Titans 30m out.
49 mins
DWZ looks like he's over in the corner from a Curran flick pass, but it's deemed forward. That seemed a harsh ruling, and the Warriors had only minutes earlier wasted their review.
46 mins
Warriors with some rare field position. Curran guns for the line on the last but he can't wrestle his way over. Handover, it is.
43 mins - TRY TITANS
Fifita burrows over from dummy half off the back of another sparkling Campbell burst. This could get ugly for the Warriors. Sorry, uglier. Easy conversion. (Titans 22-0)
41 mins
Captain's challenge on what seemed a pretty clear penalty against the Warriors for stripping in the tackle by Fonua-Blake. Unuccessful, and the Titans launch from 20m out.
Second half underway...
HALFTIME - No ball, zero field position and a multitude of errors - it's a wonder the Warriors aren't down by 30 heading into the sheds. Join us back here shortly for the second half, if you can stomach it.
40 mins
Peachey with a poor grubber and the Warriors clean it up comfortably.
38 mins
Warriors pinned in their own in-goal, after another sensational effort from Walsh denies the Titans a certain try. Short drop out pays off, as they regain possession, but that's undone by yet another handling error. Big chance here for the Titans to close the half.
36 mins
Warriors allow a bomb to bounce and they almost pay dearly for it, Hiku able to reel it in first.
33 mins - TRY TITANS
Campbell cuts through the defence yet again, stopped only by a superb cover tackle by Walsh. Peachey goes quickly and finds plenty of space on the right, floats a ball for David Fifita to slide over in the corner. Conversion from the sideline, hits the post. (Titans 16-0)
30 mins
Hiku caught running across field and is bundled into touch. Warriors slow off their line defensively, the Titans are chewing up metres with ease.
Another attacking scrum upcoming for the Titans. Hold on, captain's challenge is successful and NZ will feed the scrum near their own line.
27 mins
The Warriors make their seventh error of the first haf so far, handing the ball straight back to the Titans from a scrum in great field position.
23 mins
Aitken has been rukled out for the rest of the game with an ankle issue but Sironen has been cleared to return.
19 mins - TRY TITANS
Far too easy for Mitch Rein, who sneaks his way over the chalk from dummy half at close range, and right next to the posts. (Titans 12-0)
19 mins
O'Sullivan pinged for offside, more attacking ball for the Titans.
17 mins
Walsh can't pick up a loose pass cleanly. GC back with ball in hand, 30m out. DWZ puts in a high tackle, six more for the Titans.
15 mins
Titans metres out now. They milk a fresh set through former Warrior Patrick Herbert. GC bungled the play of the ball and NZ escape.
13 mins
Aitken limps off with looks like another injury. Titans spill the ball early, NZ 30m out. Forward pass on the short ball from Lodge and it's another uncompleted set.
11 mins
Dangerous tackle on Sironen by Fogarty. NZ have a chance to strike here from the penalty tap. Highly questionable kick option rebounds safely into the Titan's hands. That was on the second tackle. Seriously.
10 mins
Tyrone Peachey ghosts through a gap, looks to be crashing over for a try until Walsh's cover tackle springs the ball free. NZ feed the scrum in front of their posts.
8 mins
DWZ takes a high ball under a ton of pressure and he's driven back into the in-goal. Line dropout Warriors.
6 mins - TRY TITANS
Jayden Campbell benefits from a quick of the play, grubbers for himself, regathers under duress and does really well to place the ball next to the lefthand upright. (Titans 6-0)
4 mins
Warriors receive a penalty for offside at the kick. Great attacking chance 20m out, but Lodge fumbles in the second tackle.
3 mins
Jamal Fogarty breaks the NZ line at the other end of the field, looks to his support inside, where Jayden Campbell looked to have been taken very early in the tackle by DWZ. Ref says play on. NZ survive.
2 mins
Walsh bombs, Motoya soars to rerieve it, finds Walsh back inside who links with Aitken... is he over? Video review reveals he's lost posession as he lunged for the tryline. Brutal, but encouraging nonetheless.
1 min
Warriors carry for the opening set of the match.
We're underway...
3:59pm
The Warriors take the field for the final time this season. No pressure whatsoever on them this afternoon, perhaps that could unlock some brilliance?
3:56pm
It's looking positively summery in Robina this afternoon, as the hosts try to secure not only a win - but a win by at least 11 points to secure a place in the NRL finals.
A touch of cloud, no wind - we should be in for some entertaining rugby league.
***
Kia ora and welcome to live updates of NZ Warrior's season-closing clash with Gold Coast Coast Stadium at Cbus Super Stadium.
Nothing but pride is on the line for the Warriors this afternoon, with any chance of sneaking into a top-eight playoffs spot now dead and buried.
Those stakes are in stark contrast with the Titans, who need to win by at least 11 points to leapfrog Cronulla Sharks, and secure the eighth and final playoff berth.
We'll have all the action from 4pm (NZ time).
TAB odds: NZ Warriors $3.55 Gold Coast Titans $1.28
Johnson catalyst for Warriors' return to NRL finals - assistant coach
By Alex Powell
Returning playmaker Shaun Johnson can be the key difference-maker for NZ Warriors' top-eight ambitions in 2022, insists assistant coach Justin Morgan.
After another up-and-down year, the Warriors will finish their 2021 season on Sunday afternoon, taking on Gold Coast Titans.
But the 2021 season will most likely linger as a 'what could have been' for the Warriors, after missing out on the top eight by two wins and four competition points.
What's more, the Kiwi side could have easily managed those two extra wins, after losing eight games by eight points or loss this year.
Already with the wheels in motion for 2022, they re-signed former halfback Shaun Johnson from Cronulla Sharks in June, with the club's record pointscorer returning to the Warriors on a two-year deal.
Now older and wiser, Morgan is certain that Johnson is exactly what the Warriors need to clinch those close games next season.
"You buy experienced players and players that can get you home in big games," Morgan says.
"I think the difference now for Shaun, when he's coming back to the club, as opposed to when he was here last time, while he'll have some pressure on his shoulders being one of the playmakers, I think it's also fair to say he'll have a fair level of experience around him.
"He's gonna have guys like Tohu [Harris], he's gonna have Addin Fonua-Blake and Matt Lodge, Dallin [Watene-Zelezniak] is a very experienced player. You throw in Ben Murdoch-Masila and those kind of guys, it's not going to all be at his doorstep.
"Chanel's [Harris-Tavita] certainly developed, along with Wayde [Egan], in being a more experienced playmaker.
"We're hopeful that Shaun will get us home in those closer games, but also some of the experience that guys like Wayde, Chanel and to a lesser degree Reece [Walsh] - because he's still learning his trade - have gained this year in the close games that we've lost.
"Their experience as well will help us get home in those games."
And for Morgan, who'll reunite with Johnson after initially working together at the Warriors, the signing of the experienced half is something for fans and the club itself to look forward to.
"I'm looking forward to coaching Shaun again, I enjoyed coaching him previously. It's fair to say he's more mature and a better player now than he was 4-5 years ago, and the role he'll play at the club will no doubt be slightly different to the one that he played the first time he was there.
"[I'm] really excited about him coming."
