Growing up in Minto, just a few kilometres away from Campbelltown Stadium, Hayne celebrated the match-winner by revelling in his homecoming game despite landing a major blow to Wests' chances of reaching the top eight. With that, he turned around towards his opponents and let fly with one final taunt.

"As soon as I kicked it, I looked at them and said, 'I know you boys are the Tigers, it's your home ground but this is my house,' " Hayne said. "You couldn't have written the script any better and I'm just blessed to kick the field goal at the ground I grew up in."

It was the former NFL player's first senior rugby league game at Campbelltown Stadium, having never played there when contracted with Parramatta Eels. 

Gold Coast Titans hooker Nathan Friend revealed the code-hopping star called for the final field-goal attempt before the game was due to go into golden point, suggesting he was confident of nailing the kick in his own backyard. 

"I was going to throw it to him on the second [field goal attempt] but he said to give it to Ash [Taylor] to have another go. But, on the third, he took it and I think his words were 'It's my house'... Well, he's from here," Friend said. 

Hayne's match-winner put Gold Coast into the top eight where he believes the Titans can finish the season if their attack can match their impressive defence. 

"I think the biggest thing about being a finals team is your defence and that's something that we've definitely got at the moment. It's just our attack and probably our execution is something we need to be better at," he said. 

There was barely a spare seat as 16,783 filled the stadium and up to a thousand more watched over the fenced perimeter of the venue. Nearby houses were selling their front lawns as parking space as demand to see Hayne back in Campbelltown came close to outstripping supply. However, most of those would go home deflated after the Tigers clawed their way back into the contest only to suffer a knock-out blow from Hayne, who ensured Gold Coast leapfrogged Wests into the top eight. 

Still in the early stages of his comeback to NRL, Hayne's performance was inconsistent overall, though he overcame a number of early errors to seal the winner. Titans coach Neil Henry was pleased with his final composure and ability to play the full match. 

"For him to actually punch out 80 minutes as well, his legs were a bit heavy but he got the job done," Henry said. "He hit it sweet, that was good, it was great, we needed it."

The Tigers look to have lost star fullback James Tedesco for the rest of the season after suffering a suspected broken jaw during the defeat to Gold Coast. A tackle from Ryan James on the hour mark forced Tedesco from the field and while he was still awaiting scans, the initial diagnosis spells the end of his season. 

"He's got a suspected broken jaw, it doesn't look good," Jason Taylor said. 

The Tigers coach wouldn't be drawn into suggesting foul play from James – who escaped without a penalty – but he expects the matter to be dealt with by the judiciary. 

"I don't want to comment on that. The judiciary will look after that but he doesn't look good. Obviously he'll have to have scans," Taylor said. 

Taylor was pleased with Jordan Rankin, who deputised at fullback for the final 20 minutes of the match in the absence of Tedesco, and despite the injury setback he remains confident the Tigers can finish in the top eight in the absence of their No.1. 

"Absolutely, it's on the back of the performance, we were still well behind when James went off and the guys really rallied and there's no reason why we can't do that," Taylor said. 

This story originally appeared on www.smh.com.au