Broncos star suffers sickening head injury as he knocks himself out while trying to score a try - as Brisbane heap more pressure on under-fire coach
Brisbane won their fifth game in a row 26-14 at Robina on Sunday to stay fifth in the NRL standings and keep alive their top-four hopes.
But the victory was marred for Michael Maguire's side, as Brendan Piakura suffered a sickening head injury as he attempted to score a try.
The second-rower knocked on early while attempting to score after an Adam Reynolds kick.
The incident took place as he charged after the ball and slid to ground it while inside the in-goal area.
But his head crashed into the turf and he worryingly stayed down for several moments.
Several of the 23-year-old's team-mates quickly arrived by showed immediate concern as the forward lay on the ground with his head in the turf.
'He's not in a good way here, Piakura,' Fox League commentator Cooper Cronk said.
He failed his HIA and did not return to the footy pitch.
Brisbane will stay fifth in the NRL standings and keep alive their top-four hopes.
The last-placed Titans had chances to win but failed to ice the key moments.
It was a far from convincing display by the Broncos, who were error-riddled in the first-half. Luckily for them, their opponents were no better.
Walsh scored a try and set one up when the match was on the line, while centre Kotoni Staggs was a powerhouse and the best player on the field.
The scores were locked at 2-2 until the Broncos scored twice in the final four minutes of the first half to take a 14-2 halftime lead.
The Broncos finally went over in the 34th minute, and it was rookie 26-year-old prop Ben Talty who scored his first NRL try in just his second match.
Staggs swooped on a loose pass minutes later when it appeared the Titans would score, and back-rower Jack Gosiewski scored at the other end after a Walsh pass.
Walsh started and finished a long-range try after the break and topped it off with a back-flip somersault to boot to give his side a 20-2 lead.
Two tries to Titans centre Jojo Fifita inside nine minutes lit up the 24, 553 fans. An AJ Brimson grubber and a superb interchange between half Jayden Campbell and forward Chris Randall set up the four-pointers.
The Titans went close to levelling before Broncos hooker Billy Walters scored at the other end.
Speculation has been intense that Hasler is a dead man walking with his future prospects with the club, despite being contracted until the end of 2026.
His side played with commitment on Sunday, but also a lack of attention to detail.
Titans centre Brian Kelly had a shocker, with five errors costing his side dearly.
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The Guardian
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Because with my experience of the football world, I know that beneath what you see on the field and in the interviews, it's all a little bit dark.' As we pass by Centennial Homestead and the park's bird sanctuary, the sun is out, the wind has dropped, and Jack has rolled up his sleeves. He puts deep thought into each comment, especially as he connects the Pissants characters to his own time spent as something of an outsider who found himself within the walls of an elite football club. Jack remains curious how sports, clubs and their players present themselves externally, particularly on social media. He brings it up more than once on our walk, perhaps no surprise after he published a 15,000-word essay on the topic last year. He even spent time shadowing the GWS Giants media team to understand how the AFL's undisputed meme champions operate. It only made Jack more cynical of the way that sports clubs use their own channels to connect supporters to the stars, give every No 1 fan a seemingly direct link to their idols. 'We should be more wary of this type of media, because they're controlling the narrative even more,' he says, before pointing to the disconnect between disarming social media 'banter' and the behaviour of several Giants players at a post-season party last year. 'When that came out, I just thought 'that's scarier than the shit I'm writing'.' But Jack is adamant that his novel 'is not a comment on the footy world' or the young men – and, to a lesser extent, women – who inhabit it. 'I just wanted to prove to myself that I could write funny characters. Obviously there are things I'm subconsciously exploring, but there's no agenda to this book for me. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion 'On 28, we had 'masculinity' on the cover, and I regretted it straight away,' Jack says. 'It's a word that still makes me uneasy. It was my first book, I didn't know how to trust my gut. It makes me shrink up when I hear that word now. I don't use it, never really have. That goes back to why I've written a novel about characters, because I don't need to use that word, 'masculinity'. I can show it. 'The Pissants group, that core group of players that we follow, are unknowingly staring out into the void searching for meaning,' he adds. 'They're at their footy club, and they're getting nothing back. They're not wanted, they're not needed. So they're experiencing a kind of existential dread of 'what is my purpose?', which they funnel through their rituals and drinking games. They're creating and cultivating their own meaning in the universe. That's how a lot of us operate.' Jack's walking pace begins to slow as he tries to find the right words. He is usually at ease discussing the darker side of elite sport, it is terrain that he has covered many times before. But occasionally he hits a nerve within himself, this time when considering his Pissants characters and their place in the sporting and broader world. 'Unknowingly or unconsciously, we're just trying to fill that gap that would be loneliness or lack of purpose, by giving meaning to random things,' he adds. The 31-year-old distances himself from the AFL club and culture that he was part of for five years. He rarely watches matches on TV let alone attends the Swans' home games at the stadium that we could walk to with a slight diversion. But he still catches up with friends who happen to now be among the established players at the club that he was once desperate to join. Football and being part of the inner sanctum has been pushed into Jack's past but it remains within him. It remains his muse. He is no longer looking for validation from coaches and teammates. Now he writes – and runs – for himself. 'It took me a while post-footy to just enjoy going for a run,' Jack says. 'But I've found the joy in putting the runners on, putting headphones in and just going at a slow pace, far less intense than I used to. Sometimes I find myself creeping up when it's meant to be an easy 5km run, sometimes I end up flogging myself. There's something I still like about knowing what my mind and body can do.' Pissants by Brandon Jack is out now through Simon & Schuster
