Gold Coast has stunned premiership heavyweights the Brisbane Broncos on Sunday afternoon after a late comeback saw the side seal a 34-32 victory.
The injury-riddled team trailed by eight into halftime, with Titans halfback Tom Weaver producing a brilliant cover tackle inside their own 20 metres to deny Brisbane's Corey Oates from finding the line.
The game was sealed when Josiah Karapani dropped the ball with just 48 seconds left on the clock in what was the home side's last chance to pounce.
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The match was the final fight for many players to plead their Origin cases, with Reece Walsh showing no signs of concern after missing Magic Round with a knee injury.
Brisbane's Ezra Mam, who is competing with Cowboys skipper Tom Dearden for the No.6 Maroons jersey, did his chances of selection now harm after setting Suncorp Stadium alight after reeling in a Titans grubber kick to run 90 metres to score.
But their Broncos stars' efforts could not be matched by the masterclass playmaking skills of Keano Kini who helped push the game to a thriller finish in the 70th minute.
The visitors powered back late in the half, scoring three back-to-back tries to take the lead 36-30 with nine minutes remaining in the game, with a late try from Broncos centre Selwyn Cobbo not enough to level the scores as Jock Madden missed the conversion.
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Early in the game, Walsh suffered minor injury scare after denying Titans debutant Tony Francis from diving over in the corner. Walsh stayed down clutching at his groin, however, he quickly returned to action in the next set.
Minutes later, the 21-year-old broke through the Titans' defence before finding Ezra Mam who was tackled deep inside the visitors half. On the next play, Payne Haas charged over the line from short range to put the first points on the board.
"What a statement [from Walsh]," said Parker.
"He is in a mood this afternoon - when he has got the mindset of run first, it is a scary thing to try and defend."
The injury-riddled Titans were quick to fight back, with a sweeping backline movement and the quick hands of Keano Kini setting up Francis to score out wide.
Walsh and Mam combined again and set up Karapani to power over the Titans defence before offloading to Corey Oates to push the Broncos back into the lead.
The Broncos went over twice more in the second half through Deine Mariner and Brendan Piakura, who capitalised from a Walsh linebreak.
"Talk about bolters for Origin football - [Piakura] is in the conversation, he has been absolutely wonderful," Parker said.
Walsh continued to cause issues in the Titans defensive line throughout the game but a late break from Erin Clark narrowed the margin to eight.
"That's a big play ... Kevin Walters won't be happy with some of the defensive plays," Parker said.
Chris Randall crossed first for the Titans in the second half before Keenan Palasia ignited the side's comeback campaign.
"This could go down as one of their greatest victories," Parker said.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Broncos coach Kevin Walters had no answers for what happened with his side in the second half, claiming that reporters "would have to ask the players" to work out what went wrong.
"I just didn't think we were at the races today. We just tried to shoot out against the Titans and that's never gonna work," Walters said.
"We just weren't ourselves and sometimes it's hard to explain - I don't have any answers now. I don't think it's a respect thing, I'm not sure what it was.
"You would have to ask the players."
Des Hasler was pleased with his side's resilience, despite missing the likes of AJ Brimson and Kieran Foran due to injury.
"We hung in there - it's a really good trait to have," the coach said.
"The last seven weeks, they have been playing with that and staying in the fight for 80 minutes ... we've showed some real character that is developing.
"It's an important two points for us today."
