On the sixth day, God created man. On the seventh, he released an updated model and called it Scott Prince.
The Test hopeful has continued his magical puppetry on the football field, steering the Gold Coast Titans to a thrilling 26-24 win over the Brisbane Broncos in front of 27,161 fans – a record for league on the tourist strip.
So well is Prince playing that even when he sins, he still comes up smelling like roses.
After setting up a comfortable eight-point lead, Prince put everyone on edge when he gifted rival half and Blues hopeful Peter Wallace a try in the dying minutes, dropping the ball cold mid-field and helping Brisbane reduce the deficit to two.
But the Titans held on to race to the top of the NRL table, while Prince’s blemish couldn’t detract from another stunning performance that will have Test selectors struggling to omit him from the team to face New Zealand on May 9.
Three tries to Subiaco-bred winger Mat Petersen helped the Titans on their merry way, while Brisbane fought back from a 16-nil, first-half deficit to produce a high-quality and fast-paced Queensland face-off.
The Broncos finished the day with none from two – a loss on the field and a loss in the race for Craig Bellamy.
The reporting of Justin Hodges for a 25th minute dangerous tackle on Ash Harrison and a knee injury to Karmichael Hunt is even more cause for concern at Red Hill.
The Titans set the trap and it took only two minutes for Brisbane to wander into the ambush, when Petersen went over for the first of his hat-trick.
A Prince cross-kick drifted expertly towards the corner post and it was enough to baffle Denan Kemp, who flew high but was seemingly baffled by a face-full of Petersen’s frizzy hair.
Petersen swallowed it and struggled with Hunt before slamming the ball over the line.
The Titans capitalised on a weight of possession to send Petersen over on almost the same blade of grass just eight minutes later.
Harrison, deputising at five-eighth for the suspended Mat Rogers, was finding life outside of Prince to his liking.
It was a delicious flat ball from Prince that sent the former Bronco, Harrison, over for the Titans’ third, setting up a 16-nil lead after 24 minutes.
Referee Tony Archer was taking heritage back to before the codes were split, playing a rugby union-style advantage before putting Hodges on report for the dangerous tackle on Harrison.
It wasn’t all doom at the Temple of Boom for Brisbane. The Broncos had their first-half chances, with Michael Ennis denied a try after being ruled offside from a bomb and Ashton Sims held up over the line.
Wallace, while being outshone by Prince, kept his side in good shape, asking some questions with a series of dangerous bombs.
The perseverance paid dividends when Kemp regained some brownie points to wrangle a much-needed try in the corner off a Wallace cross-kick.
Ennis converted from the sideline and also bagged a late penalty to put Brisbane back in the contest at 16-8 at the half.
The momentum from the first-half charge continued in the second, when Brisbane torched the Titans right-hand defence for an 80-metre special.
Wallace found his way through traffic after a Hannant offload, finding Thaiday and then Steve Michaels, who seared down the touchline to set up Darius Boyd under the posts.
Trailing by just two, a Broncos comeback was looming large. But Preston Campbell wrested momentum back to the home side when he floated a perfect ball to gift Petersen his third in the 46th minute, taking the score to 20-14.
Prince was having such an influence he’s likely to be the first called up for the 2020 summit as well as Test team.
Every idea he has is a winner, especially when it involved holding up another gorgeous pass to put Laffranchi under the posts for a 26-14 lead with 15 minutes to play.
The genius of Hodges kept Brisbane in touch after he flicked a clandestine pass to put Boyd over for number two. Ennis couldn’t convert from the sideline and the Titans held an eight-point lead with as many minutes remaining.
A cold drop from Prince in the mid-field sent Wallace sprinting to the line with two minutes left. Prince chased and tumbled as he tangled with Ennis, appealing for the penalty, but the try stood, leaving Brisbane finishing agonisingly short of the mark.
