Gold Coast Titans lead the NRL after disputed call

SYDNEY (AP) — Greg Bird kicked a disputed penalty goal in the final minute Sunday to give Gold Coast a 28-26 win over Melbourne Storm and move the Titans into first place in the National Rugby League.

The Titans are the only team to win four of its first five matches, beating a side that had also won three of its first four.

Titans forward Luke Douglas appeared to lose the ball in a tackle ahead of the penalty call. The Melbourne crowd, which felt Douglas fumbled the ball rather than it being raked out, booed the referees from the ground after the match.

In the other Sunday game, Wests Tigers beat Manly 34-18, preventing the Sea Eagles from joining the Titans in first place. Wests won for the third time in five matches.

Earlier in the fifth round, two tries from 18-year-old winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak led Penrith to a rain-soaked 12-6 win over Canberra.

"I've got a lot of confidence in our development system here and Dallin is one of our bright lights in that department," Penrith coach Ivan Cleary said.

Watene-Zelezniak said he was surprised by his call-up during the week.

"I didn't expect it at this age," the teenager said. "When Ivan told me on Tuesday, it was April Fool's Day and I asked him if he was fooling me. When I ran out and saw the crowd, that was when the nerves kicked in."

Winger Nathan Stapleton scored four tries to lead Cronulla to its first win of the season, a 37-6 victory over the New Zealand Warriors, and South Sydney beat St. George Illawarra 26-6.

Parramatta, which has finished in last place for the past two seasons, won its first away match in nearly two years when the Eels beat Brisbane 25-18. The Eels had lost 20 consecutive away matches.

A Josh Reynolds field goal gave the Canterbury Bulldogs a 9-8 win over the Sydney Roosters.

North Queensland and Newcastle, each with just one win in four matches, play Monday to conclude the round.