The Titans are a team down on confidence and it is no more evident than in their star halfback Ash Taylor.
Gold Coast punished a poor Bulldogs to lead 16-0 after just 17 minutes on Saturday afternoon, Taylor kicking two goals from the sideline and two penalty goals to give his side a lead that should have been converted into a win.
But for the third time in four weeks they failed to score a point in the second half, the Bulldogs scoring 22 unanswered points to win 22-16.
Taylor had the opportunity to add to his side's 16-12 half-time advantage but missed a penalty goal 15 minutes into the second term, a pass that went to ground in the following set giving Canterbury the momentum they needed to hit the front.
Trailing by six points with only a minute left on the clock, the Titans went right to Taylor on the last play but their No.7 seemed caught between whether to kick or pass and did neither, dying with the ball and in the process killing his side's chance of drawing level.
Match Highlights: Titans v Bulldogs
Gold Coast coach Garth Brennan admitted that his side is devoid of a player willing to own the moment but refused to lay the blame on Taylor.
"It's not a blame exercise for us at the moment. We're all in this together," Brennan said.
"I don't think it sits solely on Ash. Tyrone [Roberts] put his hand up in the sheds and thought he could have been better in certain areas and there are a lot of players in there that know they can be better.
"It's a case of embracing the moment when the time comes in a game, when the game is on the line and there to be won. Embracing those big moments. At the moment we don't have enough players that are willing to embrace that moment.
"Ash is trying hard and he's feeling it in there at the moment but his confidence is probably a work in progress.
"He hasn't had a real good run with injuries at the start of the year and he's another one that's lacking some combinations with the halfback and the fullback behind him.
"The more they can play together the better Ash will get."
Brennan made some changes to the makeup of his team prior to kick-off, using Tyrone Peachey off the bench and starting with Jesse Arthars and Brian Kelly in the centres.
Match: Titans v Bulldogs
Round 10 -
home Team
Titans
15th Position
away Team
Bulldogs
14th Position
Venue: Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
A basic drop of a bomb was the blight on the copybook of fullback AJ Brimson but with Michael Gordon set to be available for selection next Friday against Manly, Brennan hinted that stability was preferred to further change.
"I've had changes to my spine every week this season and that doesn't seem to be working," was Brennan's response to further changes to his side.
"If it's anything it's to try and get some combinations and get some continuity amongst these guys.
"When the pressure moments come we just don't have that combination and cohesion that we're looking for at the right time.
"We had our chances to win the game, we had chances to get back level but we didn't execute real well and didn't come up with the right plays at the right time."
Two wins from their first 10 games is the worst start to a season in Titans history but Brennan maintains belief that 2019 is by no means a write-off.
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"When you're down on confidence it tends to exaggerate the problem more than what it actually is. I'm super confident we can turn it around but we need to do it soon," he conceded.
"We're a side down on confidence at the moment and we're not handling it real well.
"I know we haven't had the wins that we'd like but we've been in the fight and we've been in positions to win games in nearly every game so far this year.
"If I was at a club and we were getting beat by 40 or 50 or 60 points then I'd be really concerned but we're just a side that's a little bit down on confidence at the moment.
"No one knows where confidence goes and no one knows where it comes from but it can come and go very quickly. That's just something that we need to find and to do that we need to keep working hard."
