It was all about the triumphant return to Leichhardt Oval for Wests Tigers hooker Robbie Farah but it was the Gold Coast Titans who got the win.
With both sides needing wins to remain in touch with the top eight, it was a largely clinical Titans side that responded.
Moses Mbye also made his Tigers debut having signed mid-season and also played his last game against the Titans when at the Bulldogs.
It was the Wests Tigers who opened the scoring as Kevin Naiqama sliced through the Titans defence and raced away to score.
The Titans responded soon after, though, as Ryan James scored yet again, barging over from close range.
The teams then went tit-for-tat; first Tigers five-eighth Josh Reynolds produced a run of his own, confusing defenders to score.
This was then followed by a crafty run by Gold Coast Titans half and QLD hopeful Ashley Taylor, who opened up the Tigers defence.
The lean period then ensued as no try was scored for 33 minutes before young Titans half AJ Brimson broke the deadlock.
Try as they might to get back in the game, the Tigers had no answers for the Titans defence.
Instead, their defence failed to hold the Titans out, who scored two more tries.
Winger Anthony Don raced away to score a long-range try before Jai Arrow got a rare meat pie.
Tigers coach Ivan Cleary admits that the occasion got to his team and they failed to handle it.
“It was a big crowd and big occasion today and it must have got to us,” Cleary said.
“You’d think as some point we’d be able to correct it throughout the game. That second half we just couldn’t.”
“Any possession we had, we usually gave it back and usually in an encouraging position where we’d made a half-break.
“We weren’t prepared to take the tackle in many instances… not prepared to build pressure.”
Titans coach Garth Brennan says Taylor could do with some fine-tuning despite leading the NRL in try assists.
“For Ash, I think he’s more than capable of handling that role, you never even know until you get thrown in there,” Brennan said.
“He leads the competition with try assists which speaks for itself, to be honest.
“Ash is still working on that balance.
“I thought he was patchy at times tonight.
He came up with some good plays, he ran the ball for that try which is great and when he does that he exciting to watch, but a couple of plays he came up with, he’d probably like to do again.”
Player of the Game:
3. Jai Arrow
2. Ashley Taylor
- Ryan James