A rookie Titan. A vintage jersey. Old boys in the crowd. A home-ground win.
There may not be a better night on the Gold Coast, as the Titans produced a memorable upset over the Penrith Panthers in a game that will be replayed in club folklore.
20-year-old Zane Harrison only made his NRL debut in Round 10 this year and has now locked down the halfback role, playing every game in the seven jersey since his introduction.
Albeit only winning two of those games, those victories have come against last year's premiers, the Brisbane Broncos and now NRL heavyweights Penrith, underlining the youngster's knack for delivering in the biggest moments.
On Saturday night at Cbus Stadium, the Titans ran out in retro Chargers-inspired jerseys as part of Old Boys' Day and Retro Round, with past and present figures watching on as the club celebrated its history.
Titans had not beaten the four-time premiers since 2019, with their home win rate against them sitting at only 33%.
Although six points down at half-time, the Titans refused to fold against a strong Penrith side. Even without Origin stars Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Brian To'o, the Panthers still fielded a formidable lineup and controlled large patches of the contest.
Up until the 79th minute, both teams had crossed for three tries apiece, all converted, setting up a tense final sequence.
Rookie Harrison was central throughout, laying on try assists for all three Titans tries and steering the side through the pressure moments of the match.
With the club's history watching on, the young half showed he is the future, before delivering the defining moment: after missing a previous field goal attempt, he nailed a clutch one-pointer in the dying seconds to sink the Panthers 19–18.
It marked redemption from last year's 26–30 loss, a match still remembered for a controversial trainer incident that was questioned for potentially interfering with the final play and a missed conversion that followed.
“My first one was a proper shank, so I knew I had to nail the second one,” Harrison said post-match.
“I still had confidence that I'd done the work and that I'd nail that one.
“It was a good result, and it's good to come off like that.”
“It's a special moment, but I've done the work of training, I back my skill to ice that moment, so it's good that it came off like that,” Harrison said.
“I'd just say my preparation, probably reps at training … my hard work (helped me get the confidence).
“If you nail your prep at training, then you fall back onto that in tough moments like that.
“I actually wanted (the ball) at the left post, but we got to the right, and it's actually a wrong side for a right-foot kicker, but you get put in those situations as a halfback, and you need to step up in big moments and ice those things.
“I was always thinking one-pointer when we got in that position, and it was just about icing it.”
Titans coach Josh Hannay praised the composure of his young playmaker, insisting the moment was no surprise internally.
"It is easy for us to say, but we see that kid every day train and prepare with composure,” Hannay said after the match.
"We do oppose sessions against each and everything we have seen from that kid since day one at pre-season is that composure that you saw tonight.
"It is one thing to do it at training, another to do it in front of 20,000 against the Panthers.
"The try assists, the field goal ... I feel funny saying this, but it doesn't surprise us. He is the real deal, that kid.
"It is a special night for him.
“That will go in the scrapbook for sure, but he is going to have a lot of those moments. He's a really measured, smart young person. He wants it. He wants it badly.
“He wants to be really good. He was kicking field goals at training yesterday and preparing for that moment.
“It doesn't just happen. The good ones prepare for those moments."
Looking ahead, the Titans now turn their attention to a quick turnaround against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in another high-pressure finish.
