Tigers lose 26-10 to Titans in Andrew Johns Cup

Played in ideal conditions, with the mercury rising to 25 degrees by the end of the match, the Titans rallied from a 10-4 half-time deficit to score four unanswered tries after the break.

Tigers captain Dustin Wyrzykowski said the Titans' "clearly wanted it more, but we did our best".

"The first half was all right," he said of the Tigers' performance, "but the second half, we didn't start out strong."

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Wyrzykowski said the loss - the second in a row for the Tigers - made it "very difficult" for them to make the semi-finals of the prestigious under-16 competition.

"We'll have to fight very hard in the next one," he said of the Tigers' final round clash against the Rams at Farrer's John Simpson Oval next Saturday.

The Tigers went into the penultimate round clash in second place on the Northern Conference ladder with two wins and a loss. After Saturday's matches the Roosters lead the conference on six points, with the Tigers remaining in second spot on four points.

The Knights, who are in third place on two points, play the winless Riverina Bulls on the road on Sunday. The top two teams from the Northern and Southern conferences advance to the semi-finals.

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The Titans - who won for the first time - opened the scoring in the second minute when No 2 Owen Woods accepted a lovely long ball from No 7 Jimmy McCombie and crossed in the corner. No 1 Koopah Walters missed the conversion: 4-0 Titans.

The home side hit back eight minutes later, after a piece of individual brilliance: No 6 Riley Fitzsimmons produced a jinking run close to the Titans' tryline and scored under the posts. He added the extras: 6-4 Tigers.

The Tigers extended their lead in the 23rd minute via another superb solo effort: No 1 Reece Josephson's show-and-go attacking the Titans' tryline proved too classy for the defence. Walters missed the simple conversion: 10-4 Tigers.

That was the score at the break.

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Northern Rivers' irresistible roll began in the 35th minute, when No 2 Woods dived over in the corner for his second try. Walters converted: 10-10.

In the 43rd minute, McCombie went himself close to the Tigers' tryline - with the No 7 going low to score. It was unconverted: 14-10 Titans.

Two minutes later, Titans No 11 Jed Mulcahy found himself in open space inside the Tigers' 20m zone and then beat Tigers fullback Josephson to score. Walters converted: 20-10 Titans.

The match-sealer was the try of the match. In the 51st minute, Titans No 3 Beau Hartmann streaked down the left edge to score an 80m solo stunner, weaving past Josephson - the last line of defence - to score under the uprights. No 9 Riley Loughland converted: 26-10 Titans.

TITANS 26 (Owen Woods 2, Jimmy McCombie, Jed Mulcahy, Beau Hartmann tries; Koopah Walters 2, Riley Loughland goals) d TIGERS 10 (Riley Fitzsimmons, Reece Josephson, tries; Fitzsimmons goal).

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