Chapman hat-trick powers Titans past Wests Tigers

The Gold Coast Titans overcame a poor start to beat Wests Tigers 28-12, with Jaime Chapman scoring a hat-trick in front of a big home crowd. 

The Tigers, who had a start to forget last week, were on the ball early which would have pleased coach Brett Kimmorley, getting on the board first with hooker Salma Nour ducking over in the opening moments of the game.

However, they gave over possession when an attempted quick-play-the-ball turned sour with no-one at dummyhalf, allowing Lauren Brown to pounce and regain the ball. 

The home side worked their way down the other side of the field with a bit of luck after an unsuccessful Tigers charge-down, and eventually they got the ball to Jaime Chapman who ran through tacklers to score the Gold Coast's first try. Brown converted to draw the scores level.

The Tigers hit straight back however with a special try, with Kezie Apps showing her nous to run through the ruck, exploiting offside Titans, before passing to Losana Lutu who produced a special run, stepping and swerving her way past multiple defenders to post a try-of-the-season contender. 

Chapman, a star of the recent State of Origin series for the Blues, then put in her own contender as being passed the ball on her own 30 from fullback Evania Pelite and running the field to score her second. 

The Titans went back-to-back when Hailee-Jay Ormond-Maunsell went over out wide after Brown bamboozled the defenders when taking a quick tap from a penalty, running through Tigers players who had their backs turned, only regrouping to bring her down just before the line to prevent her from scoring it herself. The sideline kick was waved away, with the scoring remaining 16-12 until the halftime break. 

After the break, Chapman picked up where she left off and was over the her hat-trick, striding out to put the Titans further in front. 

The Titans posted other try to Pelite - but her more impressive work was in defence - with her cover defence coming across the field to deny Tigers winger Tess Staines, causing her to lose the ball over the line and deny the visitors a chance to add to their score. 

Next round, the Titans will take on Brisbane at Totally Workwear Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday, while Wests Tigers get the round started on Saturday morning when they head to Industree Group Stadium in Gosford to face the Roosters.