Dolphins slay Dragons at Redcliffe
A history-making win, the Dolphins’ biggest since entering the NRL competition last year, delighted fans and their coach at their spiritual home tonight.
The Dolphins dominated with a performance which showed commitment in defence, and flair and confidence in attack.
They won 38-0 in front of a packed Kayo Stadium and sea of red at Redcliffe.
See the photo gallery at the end of this story
Star fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow was back to his exciting best, after a disappointing performance in the side’s round one loss to the Cowboys last weekend.
He scored a hat-trick and saved two tries, looking dangerous every time he had the ball.
Jake Averillo scored his first regular-season try for the Dolphins on debut, and Jeremy Marshall-King also scored after returning to the field following a Head Injury Assessment (HIA). There were also tries to Jamayne Isaako and Mark Nicholls.
Young halfback Isaiya Katoa was outstanding, despite the loss of halves partner Kodi Nikorima and hooker Jeremy Marshall-King to HIAs in the first half.
Max Plath was also a standout, filling the void in the halves, as was Kurt Donoghoe.
It was a stunning turnaround for the team, who were put on notice by Super Coach Wayne Bennett after last week’s lack-lustre performance.
“I liked everybody’s performance tonight. They all put a tremendous effort in. He (Katoa) was just one of 17 and with the rest of them playing so well it makes it a lot easier for him,” Bennett said after the game.
“He lost Kodi pretty early in the game … Kurt came on … Kurt’s not an experienced five-eighth at this level but he did a great job for us.
“I wasn’t disappointed with their effort. It was a tremendous turnaround. There’s always room for improvement … the biggest room in the house, hey Jesse,” he said smiling at Captain Jesse Bromwich.
Bennett made several changes in the wake of the side’s round-one loss, dropping halfback Sean O’Sullivan for Isaiya Katoa, replacing Tesi Niu with Jake Averillo, and bringing Kurt Donoghoe in for Kenny Bromwich.
It was an opportunity for the young guns to impress Bennett and it seems they did.
“Yeah. I did feel that they grabbed their moment,” he said.
So, have they done enough to keep those spots?
“I think so. Today, they have anyway. Next week might be another story but today, they have.”
Captain Jesse Bromwich was pleased with how his team played tonight.
“We had a few things we needed to work on off the back of last week, much of that being effort. It was nice the boys turned up with an attitude to want to work hard. That’s what the difference was between this week and last week,” he said.
He says the Dolphins were able to take the Dragons on with fast line speed and intensity, rewarding a vocal home crowd.
“This is where we train, this is where we do all our tough sessions and we spend a lot of time here. For the crowd to turn up the way they did, get behind us … you could hear them going crazy after Hammer saved that try at the end,” Bromwich said.
“It just gives you goosebumps. It’s really nice to come back here and play.”