Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook believes his team has discovered the resilience to hang tough in NRL matches after Saturday's 20-18 win over the Warriors.
The Titans were under a mountain of pressure at CBUS Super Stadium but denied the Warriors points in the second-half to secure their first win of the season after last week's four-point loss to Parramatta.
Winger Greg Marzhew's first-half double had put the home side into a commanding 16-6 lead before the Warriors scored two late tries - including a controversial four-pointer awarded to winger Adam Pompey after the siren by the bunker - to snatch an 18-16 lead at the break.
AJ Brimson's second try assist in his first game as a full time NRL five-eighth allowed Phillip Sami to get the Titans' back in front in the 57th minute.
The visitors then poured forward but a combination of Titans' defence and some crucial errors including two dropped balls when the tryline beckoned denied Nathan Brown's team.
"I don't think we won a tight game last year so I think it's great and a credit to, in particular, our forwards, through the pre-season to get themselves in a better spot to be able to work harder," he said.
"That's what we need. That willingness to defend."
In a match that had been billed as the return of Brimson versus ex-Titan Ash Taylor in his first appearance for the Warriors, it was the Gold Coast No.6 who had an immediate impact.
Brimson's opening-minute line break allowed Beau Fermor to score after just 40 seconds and while Taylor's grubber led to Pompey's controversial try, it was the Titans' five-eighth whose bullet pass to Sami secured the win.
"It was great to have AJ back," Holbrook said.
"That's what the whole team's been witnessing all pre-season, just AJ being fantastic and everything.
"To have him back is a huge bonus for us."
Warriors coach Brown was left disappointed by his team's inability to finish off their attacking moves as they slipped to a 0-2 start.
"Not good enough if you want to win games. We're way past trying to develop players, we want to win bloody games of footy and that's just not acceptable," he said.
"We had two young outside backs drop the ball on the line ... just purely and simply because they just didn't get deep enough.
"Again, not acceptable. Not now where we want to be as a football club."
The Warriors lost forward Matt Lodge after just 21 minutes in his return from suspension due to illness while Gold Coast front-rower Isaac Liu came off late for a HIA.
