Round 1 vs. North Queensland Cowboys Discussion

[Big Pete]

Dolphins vs. North Queensland Cowboys
Suncorp Stadium, Sunday 10 March 2024
Kick Off: 3:00pm (AEST)

1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Tesi Niu 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Jack Bostock 6. Kodi Nikorima 7. Sean O'Sullivan 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Jeremy Marshall-King 10. Thomas Flegler 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Connelly Lemuelu 13. Ray Stone

14. Josh Kerr 15. Max Plath 16. Kenny Bromwich 17. Mark Nicholls

18. Jarrod Wallace 19. Jake Averillo 20. Oryn Keeley 21. Euan Aitken 22. Isaiya Katoa

1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Valentine Holmes 4. Zac Laybutt 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Tom Dearden 7. Chad Townsend 8. Jordan McLean 9. Reece Robson 10. Jason Taumalolo 11. Heilum Luki 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Reuben Cotter

14. Jake Granville 15. Griffin Neame 16. Sam McIntyre 17. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki

18. Tomas Chester 19. Thomas Mikaele 20. Semi Valemei 21. Jack Gosiewski 22. Jake Clifford​

 

[Big Pete]

The Dolphins will kick-off their 2024 campaign when they face off against the North Queensland Cowboys in front of what should be a packed out Suncorp Stadium. The game will see Thomas Flegler and Herbie Farnworth make their official club debuts in what should be an exciting new chapter for both them and the club.

There's a few omissions that may shock fans, the first would be Jake Averillo. Jake was one of the stand-out players for the Bulldogs last season and many thought he'd be one of the first players picked for the Dolphins. However, he's found himself out of the seventeen, with Tesi Niu retaining his spot in the centres.

Tesi lost an impressive eight kilos during the off-season and appears to be more suited to the left hand side. It's a good reward for him and hopefully he takes it.

New Zealand international Kodi Nikorima has been selected ahead of Isaiya Katoa. After the excitement of last year, Bennett appears to be easing Isaiya Katoa back into first grade and will be looking for a stronger back half of the season, remembering the Dolphins went 2-10 in 2023. Kodi is also a quality player in his own right and you don't play 10 seasons of NRL without having something to offer.

Finally there's the bench rotation that has seen the likes of Euan Aitken and Jarrod Wallace overlooked. That's a testament to the Dolphins depth that even without Tom Gilbert they've been able to build a healthy competition for spots and they've got plenty of experience there in Bromwich & Nicholls alone.

It's also a good reward for Max Plath who joined the Dolphins mid-way through 2023. Just like his father, he can play a variety of roles and is whole-hearted - just the type of player you'd love to help cultivate that culture.

The Dolphins will go in as underdogs and I doubt they expected anything less.

 

[Puff]

Josh Kerr!!!!

Bostock!!!!

I am a little concerned.

 

[PhinsUp889]

SOS, Tesi and Bostock all on one side of the field. Who could ever have seen that failing?

 

[League guru]

I know that the Dolphins were awful but the same could be said of the officials. 1 random penalty for downtown, 100 forward passes, plus Kasey Badger in the bunker who has absolutely no idea (penalty try). The players are accountable, apparently the officials aren't.

 

[Big Pete]

North Queensland Cowboys 43 def. Dolphins 18 (Thomas Flegler, Josh Kerr, Jack Bostock tries; Jamayne Isaako 3/3 goals)

0-1

Let's cut to the chase, there's plenty to work on at the Dolphins. The Cowboys tore through the edges too easily and when the Dolphins had their opportunities they made some very uncharacteristic errors. The one that stood out to me was Tabuai-Fidow kicking the ball into Luki, Bennett will surely have a quiet word to his fullback about putting his body on the line because that was incredibly lazy.

It looks like the Dolphins will be without Lemuelu for an extended period with a dislocated knee. Fortunately the Dolphins have depth in that position and I'm sure we'll see a raft of changes heading into the Round 2 clash against the Dragons. This isn't the first time Bennett has opened the season with a heavy loss so it'll be interesting to see how he gets the Dolphins back on track.

I thought Flegler and Farnworth were solid debut. Flegler moreso in his first stint than his second when he was guilty of trying too hard. Bennett seems keen to use his skill-set and has him passing out the back which is fine, but I'd also like to see him running off of somebody just one-wide of the ruck, it was something the Broncos attempted but could never quite get right despite Tom possessing the attributes to be a real weapon out there.

Farnworth worked hard and proved a real handful in defence. My only concern is that Isaako rarely saw any quality ball which was one of the go to weapons for the Dolphins in 2023. If there was one complaint Farnworth had about his game it was his inability to link up with his winger and it's something he'll need to work on moving forward.

Marshall-King on return was the Dolphins best and he did a good job of marshalling his troops through the middle. The others had their moments - Stone put on some great shots, Kaufusi looked to be making his mark early but the team rarely gelled and they were also guilty of some poor moments.

 

[Big Pete]

I know that the Dolphins were awful but the same could be said of the officials. 1 random penalty for downtown, 100 forward passes, plus Kasey Badger in the bunker who has absolutely no idea (penalty try). The players are accountable, apparently the officials aren't.

I'd like to see a couple of those passes again, namely the Taulagi flick in the lead-up to Dearden's try and the Holmes pass to Taulagi. They were certainly suspect, but live I didn't think they were blatantly forward.

I thought the Cowboys were fortunate to keep their full compliment on the field early in the second half when they gave away three consecutive penalties on their goal line. They're infamous for cynical penalties, but it was still 31-12 at that point, Dolphins obviously have bigger things to fret about.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

I know that the Dolphins were awful but the same could be said of the officials. 1 random penalty for downtown, 100 forward passes, plus Kasey Badger in the bunker who has absolutely no idea (penalty try). The players are accountable, apparently the officials aren't.

There's no way that was a penalty try. The Dearden try was a bit contentious, too.

What's your thoughts on Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow?

He looks like a player who got by on pace in his junior days. There are too many times when he looks bewildered and doesn't read the situation. Today he showed signs of greatness, but he constantly made poor decisions that cost his team.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

I'd like to see a couple of those passes again, namely the Taulagi flick in the lead-up to Dearden's try and the Holmes pass to Taulagi. They were certainly suspect, but live I didn't think they were blatantly forward.

I thought the Cowboys were fortunate to keep their full compliment on the field early in the second half when they gave away three consecutive penalties on their goal line. They're infamous for cynical penalties, but it was still 31-12 at that point, Dolphins obviously have bigger things to fret about.

I'd like to see the officials issue a tougher stance on teams conceding numerous set restarts in a short span of time. Bring back the 5 minute sin bin. Or even a 2 minute sin bin.

 

[MugaB]

I'd like to see the officials issue a tougher stance on teams conceding numerous set restarts in a short span of time. Bring back the 5 minute sin bin. Or even a 2 minute sin bin.

No fkn way... keep it simple just send the next knob who infringes to the bin.... the 10 minute bin, that will stop any bullshìt the cowboys try with giving away repetitive 6agains... the ref should be strung up for not having the guts to call on the many fwd passes, and that penalty try was gar..bárge.
INFACT... like the world cup soccer refs they should be accountable for ruling on the penalty tries themselves, by asking the bunker to play the footage on screen for them, it way too easy a cop out that bunker officials make calls that are suspect and the main ref becomes the scapegoat for the bad decision... hence why he blew penalty try, just going off her word really... i get that the dolphins had a really off day, but the 50/50s were not going their way, and neither was adjudications

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

No fkn way... keep it simple just send the next knob who infringes to the bin.... the 10 minute bin, that will stop any bullshìt the cowboys try with giving away repetitive 6agains... the ref should be strung up for not having the guts to call on the many fwd passes, and that penalty try was gar..bárge.
INFACT... like the world cup soccer refs they should be accountable for ruling on the penalty tries themselves, by asking the bunker to play the footage on screen for them, it way too easy a cop out that bunker officials make calls that are suspect and the main ref becomes the scapegoat for the bad decision... hence why he blew penalty try, just going off her word really... i get that the dolphins had a really off day, but the 50/50s were not going their way, and neither was adjudications

The video referred are often 50/50.