Round 19 vs. Gold Coast Titans Discussion

[Big Pete]

Gold Coast Titans vs. Dolphins
Cbus Super Stadium, Sunday 9 July 2023
Kick Off: 4:05pm

1. Jayden Campbell 2. Alofiana Khan-Pereira 3. Brian Kelly 4. Aaron Schoupp 5. Phillip Sami 6. Kieran Foran 7. Tanah Boyd 8. Jaimin Jolliffe 9. Sam Verrills 10. Iszac Fa'asumaleaui 11. Klese Haas 12. Joe Stimson 13. Isaac Liu

14. Chris Randall 15. Erin Clark 16. Jojo Fifita 17. Jacob Alick

18. Thomas Mikaele 19. Keano Kini 20. Kruise Leeming 21. Ken Maumalo 22. Tony Francis

1. Kodi Nikorima 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Euan Aitken 4. Valynce Te Whare 5. Tesi Niu 6. Isaiya Katoa 7. Sean O'Sullivan 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Jeremy Marshall-King 10. Herman Ese'ese 11. Connelly Lemuelu 12. Kenny Bromwich 13. Ray Stone

14. Josh Kerr 15. Mark Nicholls 16. Anthony Milford 17. Jarrod Wallace

18. Max Plath 19. Harrison Graham 20. Poasa Faamausili 21. Brenko Lee 22. Kurt Donoghoe​

 

[Big Pete]

It's the final game of the round and for the Dolphins it's one they desperately need to win. They're 7-9 and the Top 8 is beginning to slip away with the Eels sitting at 9-7.

To make matters worse, Marshall-King has succumbed to his AC injury and won't be available this week.

There was speculation that Marshall-King maybe out for the rest of the season, so on the bright side he should come into the team later in the year. However, the Dolphins will miss his spark out of dummy half and his ability to bring his playmakers into the game.

Harrison Graham has been picked as his replacement. Graham has only played the one game so far and when he came onto the field, the Dolphins were well and truly on the back-foot as the Eels had their way with them in the first half.

It's been a season plagued by injury for Graham, but if he can show some of the form from last year at Wynnum he could turn some heads.

This game is going to come down to defence. The Gold Coast are going to move the ball so the Dolphins cannot afford to give that right-side space, otherwise it'll end up ugly. The Dolphins cannot pride themselves on their record comeback, they need to build on what they showed against the Broncos while working overtime to protect their backs.

If they can physically get on top of the Gold Coast and control possession, they have Milford who can come on late and test them around the middle and around the fringes.

Patience will be the key and if I see one loose offload from Niu, Ese'ese or Wallace, my head might explode.

 

[Big Pete]

Dolphins 23 (Connelly Lemuelu, Jarrod Wallace, Kenny Bromwich, Jamayne Isaako tries; Jamayne Isaako 3/5 goals; Jamayne Isaako field goal) def. Gold Coast Titans 21

8-9

Phins Up!

It was a game filled with twists and turns but in the end the Dolphins made the most of their opportunities to finally put an end to the losing streak.

The Dolphins really had to hold their nerve against a plucky Titans outfit. The Gold Coast weren't afraid to chance their arm and with Foran pulling the strings, they had plenty of points in them.

At 20-all it appeared the Gold Coast were going to go on with it. The Titans had identified Te Whare as a weak link and were sending plenty of traffic his way. However after giving up a fairly soft try to Kelly, the Dolphins adjusted and were able to force an error out of Khan-Pereira who panicked when the Dolphins took away his space. It gave the Dolphins a seven tackle set and Isaako summed the situation up like he was shilling peas.

My biggest take-away was the way the Dolphins worked around Marshall-King's absence. After Graham finished his stint, Katoa shifted into dummy half with Milford slotting in at five eighth. It ended up being a master-stroke and both players produced some great plays to shift the momentum of the game. Katoa produced a pass that a seasoned dummy half would have been proud of to put Wallace over.

Then later in the piece Milford just added another dimension and his kicks in particular were all well weighted.

It was a much needed win for the Dolphins and to lose it at the death would have made things difficult moving forward. The Panthers are going to be very difficult coming off the bye, especially if Nathan Cleary returns. Even if Cleary doesn't, I'm sure Luai will have a point to prove after being overlooked for Origin III.

 

[Puff]

Great win, gets us back on track

 

[MugaB]

Doing great phins... i was at the game in bay 19, just giving it to the Campbell every time he was about to catch those bombs.. he proved me wrong every time
Then finally late in the 2nd half one got dropped and assako scored off it... I was so chuffed i thought i got in his head....
Watching the replays the next day found out it was the titans winger who dropped it not Campbell... oh well, was a great atmosphere and the stadium hada fair lot of travellers for the dolphins, looks like after the last match up that the titans and dolphins have been garnering a bit if a rivalry now, both were close games, but done different ways.. cant wait till next year for the same games