The Bulldogs raced the clock with a 22-0 lead in as many minutes. Soft tries to Jaeman Salmon and Josh Curran were matched by an offloading, swerving, swinging team try to Mahoney.
When prop Max King came from the sweltering field, chest-thumping and cajoling the crowd at the top of his lungs, the masses responded in kind.
Matt Burton is helped off the field at Belmore Oval.Credit: Getty Images
Burtonโs knee injury, coming when he was caught awkwardly in a tackle on Jojo Fifita, briefly took the wind out of both Canterbury and the crowd.
The Gold Coast quickly seized upon the backline upheaval to run in a pair of tries to Alofiana Khan-Pereira.
But after going to the break up 22-12, the Bulldogs took less than a minute to strike again as Khan-Periera fumbled his first touch of the second half.
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A dropped bomb by the Gold Coast flyer landed straight in the lap of Harry Hayes, with Jacob Preston finishing off to keep the Titans at bay.
Tries were traded by Kurt Mann and Titans skipper Tino Faโasuamaleaui – returning to the scene of his ACL rupture last year – before a long break from Keano Kini was finished off by Fifita.
The Titans threatened, but couldnโt muster a grandstand finish their lacklustre defence didnโt deserve. A runaway try to Connor Tracey confirmed as much two minutes from full-time.
Aside from Burton and Kikau, the Bulldogs will be watching Mondayโs charge sheet after Mahoney (contact on the kicker) and Montoya (shoulder charge) were placed on report ahead of next Sundayโs grudge match against Parramatta.
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