and when Michael Jennings took him high Prince decided to settle things down by opting for a penalty goal.
Showing good line-speed John Cartwright’s men made sure Penrith were locked in their half when they had the ball and the pressure paid off with the Titans mustering up back-to-back sets.
With the Panthers breathing hard an offload by William Zillman caught Walsh and Jennings off guard and Clinton Toopi took the ball in his stride to dive over.
Three minutes later and directly after kick-off the Panthers let Nathan Friend slip through from dummy-half and they paid the price as he threw across to Greg Bird who provided good support and streaked away to score.
Running out to a 20-point lead after Prince’s conversion the Panthers went up a gear and found a much needed try with eight minutes left on the clock.
Opting to go back inside the Titans were stretched and Lewis found the running Coote who dived over.
With three minutes to go Penrith made things interesting after Coote poached a loose ball from Joseph Tomane’s spill from a high bomb.
But the Titans were always going to win the match and Luke Bailey put the icing on the cake for the home-side when he latched onto Friends grubber just as the final siren sounded on a crucial win.
Gold Coast Titans – 38
Tries: Prince, Laffranchi, Harrison, Toopi, Bird, Bailey
Goals: Prince 7
Penrith Panthers – 24
Tries: Coote 3, Burns
Goals: Gordon 4
Crowd: 15,430 @ Skilled Park 1/5/2010