Skipper Scott Prince claimed Gold Coast were happy to fly under the radar but warned they had plenty of improvement left after underlining their NRL finals credentials by overcoming a gritty Parramatta on Monday night.
The Titans jumped to equal second on the table and set up a big stage clash at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night against the more-fancied Bulldogs with an 18-12 victory at Skilled Park.
Prince's superior goalkicking ensured the Coast kept their unbeaten 2009 home record intact as the Eels' decision to change kickers backfired badly with Krisnan Inu succumbing to the pressure of the job.
The Titans held a 14-12 lead for the bulk of the second half despite scoring one less try as Inu missed two first-half attempts, including a shocker just to the side of the posts.
In the end, the Eels hopes of keeping their season alive slipped away with Papua New Guinea winger David Mead, a late inclusion, finishing a skilful backline try set up by the mercurial Mat Rogers with 11 minutes left.
The Bulldogs and pace-setting Dragons have received far more attention as premiership contenders but Prince said his team didn't mind.
"We're happy chipping away," he said. "We still know we have a lot more improvement left in us.
"We know we can play a lot better."
Titans coach John Cartwright bemoaned a disjointed attacking effort from his team which appeared to ease up after dominating the early stages for a 14-0 lead and threatening to blow them off the park.
While Parramatta fought back strongly it will be the Coast's efforts to back up in a tough four-day turnaround which will provide a better gauge of their credentials.
Eels coach Daniel Anderson felt his team let the Titans off the hook in front of a crowd of 14,840.
"It was there to win," Anderson said.
"Poor goalkicking in the first half from Kris, who was very involved in the game. We lost a few points and confidence.
"We had long periods of momentum and dominated for long periods but they had a bit more class in how they finished their sets."
Anderson took the goalkicking responsibilities away from Luke Burt due to Inu's fine training form but he wilted under the pressure of the occasion.
It was a crucial eighth straight win at home for the Titans whose wheels have fallen off at this stage of the season in the previous two years.
In a display of his best and worst in his return from a rib injury, Rogers laid on two tries for the home side but also contributed to two for the visitors.
Luke Bailey (broken arm) proved more consistent in his return than Rogers and took little time to prove he was completely over his injury with his first touch of the ball.
Bailey evoked memories of Greg Dowling's memorable 1984 State of Origin try in the mud with expert fingertip control in pouncing on a Prince grubber which rebounded off the upright before he crossed in the second minute.
Mead, named on the bench after Preston Campbell was a late scratching with a virus, played almost 70 minutes
after Chris Walker strained his quad in diving over for the Coast's second try.
Email a friend