Gold Coast have Tyrone Roberts and Jarrod Wallace to thank for serving up the brains and the brawn in a Friday night defeat of Penrith that pumped life back into their NRL campaign.

It was returning five-eighth Roberts who took control of the contest when Ashley Taylor limped off in the first half.

And, with the game in the balance in the second half, it was Wallace who put his hand up to get the Titans home 30-24 for their first win in five starts this NRL season.

Gold Coast’s 30-24 defeat of the Panthers snapped a club-worst start to an NRL season and left Brennan with plenty to praise.

“He stood up and owned that footy team,” Brennan said of Roberts, who he believes has returned from a one-season stint in England a better player.

“I’m really proud of his performance, thought he steered them around well.

“The ball hasn’t bounced our way, but I knew if we kept working hard it’d turn eventually.”

Wallace ran for 143 metres across 15 hit-ups, while his try brought them level after they had surrendered a half-time lead.

His second-half shoulder charge sparked an all-in scuffle and brought the crowd to life.

While it was penalised it could come under further scrutiny on review.

“He was good, he’s an Origin player, you need them to step up and lead like that,” Brennan said of the Queensland forward.

“He carried the ball strong; I’ve been working with him on that.”

Halfback Ashley Taylor could have returned despite a lower leg complaint forcing him off in the second half.

Taylor missed the first three games of the season with a quad injury and Brennan said they opted to play it safe given they were unsure of the extent of the injury.