It wouldn't be out of the realms of realistic to say the Gold Coast Titans have been the NRL's most inconsistent team during the second half of the 2026 season.
The upside they have shown, particularly in recent weeks, is enormous, particularly at the attacking end.
The downside though has been diabolical, particularly at the defensive end, and was on display again last weekend as they copped 42 points against the New Zealand Warriors.
That performance though came off excellent wins, scoring 38 points in each game against the St George Illawarra Dragons and Manly Sea Eagles.
The Titans had a woeful start to life under Josh Hannay - there is no getting around that.
Des Hasler's replacement struggled to get anything out of his troops early in the campaign.
50 points let in against the Sharks, 30 against the Cowboys. They slumped to zero and three, and it suddenly looked like the same old narrative - that sport just doesn't get the Gold Coast - was starting again under a new leader.
Their win against the Dragons did little to restore confidence in Round 4, but in Round 6, they put up 50 points of their own against the Parramatta Eels, and things looked different.
They have had some pretty awful losses since then, granted, but the blowouts have stopped.
Since that win over Parramatta, they have lost 9 of 13 games, but haven't conceded more than 40 points once.
Their average losing margin has dropped significantly, and if nothing else, you couldn't accuse Josh Hannay's side of not caring.
That is an accusation you could easily level at other teams near the bottom of the table at various points this season. Early on, the St George Illawarra Dragons, and towards the back end of the season where we are now, Benji Marshall's Wests Tigers who have been diabolical in recent games.
When you run an eye over the Titans' team list, it's flashy attack that should stand out.
Keano Kini, Jayden Campbell, AJ Brimson. Three of the game's best. Phillip Sami powering on the wing, Jojo Fifita coming off a State of Origin debut on the other side of the park.
The Titans should be able to score points for fun.
And they have had to rely on that at times during the season, but it's their defence which has been far better.
In Round 16, they got the better of the Penrith Panthers, yes the minor premier-bound Panthers, 19 points to 18.
It's a game that should never have finished with the result it did, and yet the Titans have spent most of the second half of the year putting their best foot forward, even in heavy losses.
They are all but out of finals contention, although the slimmest of mathematical chances remain.
Yet, the final five weeks won't be about that.
Instead, it will be about putting their best foot forward with 2027 in mind, while also having the opportunity to wreck a number of runs to the finish line.
For whatever reason, the draw has worked out so the Titans play four of their final five games at home.
They also clash with top-eight contenders. The desperate North Queensland Cowboys coming off letting in the most points ever in an NRL game, the Newcastle Knights, injury-ravaged and also desperate is their only road game, then they finish off with premiership contenders the Cronulla Sharks, and the desperate South Sydney Rabbitohs, before Round 27 brings a Queensland derby against the Dolphins.
The thing is, with four home games and taking into account exactly how the Titans are playing, there is a fair chance they snag one, two, or even more wins over the last five weeks.
They are, to put it in the most cliched of ways, the banana peel on the road to the finish line for all of those sides.
No other bottom eight side seemingly has the upside to pull off some off some of the games and performances they have this year.
And with so many finals teams, they can suddenly have a bigger role on the make up of the top eight than most.
A win over the Cowboys, Knights or Rabbitohs in particular would have enormous ramifications, with all three of those teams in the scrap for sixth spot.
If the Titans get their attack right and aim up in defence, unlike the home game against the Warriors, then they will be able to throw more than one spanner in to the works on the run home.
