Humiliating moment says it all as Titans superstar faces nervous wait in scary Sharks statement

Friday the 13th may be next week, but the horror show came early for Josh Hannay who was dealt a sobering reality check in his first game as Titans coach with his former side the Sharks putting on a round one clinic at home.

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MATCH CENTRE: Sharks v Titans, scores, stats, live blog

The 50-10 result proved that trial form means absolutely nothing as long-suffering Titans fans could only watch on in horror as Hannay’s return to the Shire ended in disaster.

A terrific pre-season and key re-signings suggested the tide was turning on the Gold Coast, but the early signs are grim after they fell behind 34-0 at the break with Hannay left shaking his head at schoolboy errors.

Filling in for the injured Jayden Campbell, Lachlan Ilias sent a restart sailing out on the full which led directly to a Sharks try, with skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui placed on report for shoulder charge on Blayke Brailey during the play.

In one humiliating moment there was no dummy-half when they were on the attack late in the first half which allowed Cronulla to steal the ball, while early kicks went into touch with the outside backs unaware the play was on.

One game doesn’t make a season, but this was a major missed opportunity for the Titans to make an early statement against a competition heavyweight, with the one bright spot coming in the second half when rookie Sialetili Faeamani scored.

TRICK AND TREAT

The Sharks are sick and tired with the constant speculation over who is the dominant half in this team, but it doesn’t really matter when Braydon Trindall and Nicho Hynes play like this.

Trindall may have the six on his back but he took complete control with a hand in five of their six first-half tries, with the five-eighth finishing with four assists, two tries and a 40-20.

The crafty playmaker was at his magical best as the man they call ‘Tricky’ set up the opening two tries with kicks before he sliced through to score the first of his brace.

He grabbed his second later in the half off another one of his high kicks that the Titans couldn’t defend, before a majestic move with Hynes saw the halfback slice through untouched to cap a dream 40 minutes.

FEEDING FRENZY

The cream has risen to the top already in round one with several blowouts, and it’s set up a cracking battle in Bathurst with Penrith set to host the Sharks next week.

It’ll be a great test for the Sharks who have gone so close the past few years but have fallen short of a grand final appearance.

There’s a sense that this could be their last chance with a number of players off contract at the end of the year, with the rest of the league to be on notice if they can knock off Ivan Cleary’s men.

But it won’t be as easy as Saturday’s stroll in the park that saw Sione Katoa score an incredibly soft try off a line dropout in the final few minutes.

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