While the end of the 2023 season was somewhat dismal for the Dolphins, the 2024 NRL season so far is proving to be so much better! Apart from a loss to their fellow local Queensland side (yes, we all know the Broncos!) in Round 6, the Dolphins are in top winning form.
The Dolphins took down the Titans 30-14 in Round 4, handed the Tigers their marching orders in Round 5 with a final score of 26-16, couldn’t quite match the power of the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium losing by 14 points (28-14), but certainly made up for it by demolishing the Eels in the Top End 44-16.
It was a massive accomplishment for the side, who was missing big names including the likes of Herbie Farnworth, Thomas Flegler, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Tom Gilbert, Felise Kaufusi, Anthony Milford and Kurt Donoghue. Oh…and we can’t forget Wayne Bennett! The veteran coach stayed at home in Brisbane after being struck down with the flu. It was up to assistant Kristian Woolf to step in to guide the team. It was also a win that marked a historic moment in the club’s history, notching up more than 40 points for the first time.
The Eels were in prime position after scoring the first two tries of the game to get out to an 8-0 lead, but never looked totally in control. The Dolphins got on the board 10 minutes before half time to set up what seemed like was going to be a competitive second half. Instead, the Dolphins ran in eight tries – four of those in eight minutes – to leave the Eels scratching their heads and searching for answers.
While they may have been missing some of their bigger names, the Dolphins weren’t without some strong players. Traj Fuller stepped into the mix in just his second NRL game finishing with a try, a try assist, a line break, five tackle busts and 148 running metres. Jack Bostock nailed the first Dolphins try of the match, finishing with a hat trick after scoring two more tries in five minutes in the second half, while Tesi Niu and Max Plath bagged a double as well. Bostock's hat-trick takes his tally to nine tries from his past nine games. The winger also added four-line breaks and ran for 176 metres. In another defining moment for the Dolphins, Jesse Bromwich reached a milestone by being the first player to achieve starting 300 NRL games as prop.
Dolphins interim coach Kristian Woolf was obviously more than happy with the game result despite the hot and humid conditions at Darwin’s TIO Stadium.
"I'm very proud of the effort,” Woolf said after the match. “There's plenty of reasons for us to have excuses for ourselves and not come up with a performance and we didn't do that. We haven't had Wayne all week, the players have been great, they prepared really well, they carried that through since we got here and deserve a lot of credit for what they've done.”
What’s next in the world of Phins Up? The Dolphins are heading for Townsville this weekend (May 4) to hit the field against the Cowboys before making their way back to Suncorp on Thursday May 9 for a match with Manly. Another game at Suncorp on May 19 against the Tigers and then the Dolphins will make their way across the ditch to see what the Warriors have to offer. While they’re certainly proving they have what it takes to tackle some of the more high-profile teams in the competition, the 2024 NRL season still has a long way to go!
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