Trial #2 vs. Gold Coast Titans Discussion

[Big Pete]

Dolphins vs. Gold Coast Titans
Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunday 18 February 2024
Kick Off: 5:15pm (AEST)

1. Trai Fuller 2. Jack Bostock 3. Tesi Niu 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Jamayne Isaako 6. Isaiya Katoa 7. Sean O'Sullivan 8. Thomas Flegler 9. Jeremy Marshall-King 10. Mark Nicholls 11. Euan Aitken 12. Felise Kaufusi 13. Tom Gilbert

14. Max Plath 15. Valynce Te Whare 16. Jake Averillo 17. Kurt Donoghoe 18. Gerome Burns 19. Ray Stone 20. Jeremiah Simbiken 21. Connelly Lemuelu 22. Lachlan Hubner 23. Harrison Graham 24. Jarrod Wallace

1. Jaylan De Groot 2. Tony Francis 3. Aaron Schoupp 4. Jack Garrod 5. Ken Maumalo 6. Tom Steadman 7. Kyle Foxwell 8. Luke Burton 9. Vaka Sikahele 10. Jordan Penquitt 11. Ryan Foran 12. Seth Nikotemo 13. Arama Hau

14. Thomas Weaver 15. Iszac Fa'asumaleaui 16. Joe Stimson 17. Klese Haas 18. Harley Smith-Shields 19. Kaleb Ngamanu 20. Josiah Pahulu 21. Oskar Bryant 22. Caelys-Paul Putoko​

 

[Big Pete]

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Josh Kerr, Kodi Nikorima and Kenny Bromwich are on All-Stars duty. Meanwhile Anthony Milford suffered a hamstring injury during the pre-season and isn't expected to be available until the third trial against the Warriors.

No word on Jesse Bromwich, I presume Bennett is giving him a spell.

Otherwise it's close to a full strength line-up for the Dolphins. Their two big recruits in Herbie Farnworth and Thomas Flegler will be in action and they'll be looking to make a good first impression. It appears that Herbie will shift to right centre, a position he's always wanted to play. Herbie was already one of the best centres in the competition, so it'll be happy days if he can find another gear in his preferred position.

At Brisbane, Flegler found himself third in the pecking order behind Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan. At the Dolphins, I'd expect him to have more responsibility and allow Jesse and Nicholls to insert themselves when need be. Flegler has always showed a lot of promise and now The Dolphins have the opportunity to see what he's capable of.

The match will also mark the return of Tom Gilbert. The Queensland Origin forward was sorely missed as the Dolphins went 7-5 in the first half of the season to 2-10 in the second when the lock forward was unavailable. I'm sure he'll be chomping at the bit to get involved and one of the biggest battles will be the trainers trying to get him off the field.

One of the best aspects of trials is that it gives NRL hopefuls an opportunity at the big time. The Dolphins will have three trialists in Trai Fuller, Gerome Burns and Lachlan Hubner mixing it with the full-time players. Of the three, I'm curious to see how Burns handles this opportunity. At his best, Gerome is an elusive runner of the football with a nice array of skills and he isn't afraid to back himself and find the try line.

Either way, these two teams will close out the weekend so hopefully the Dolphins can maintain the momentum from last weekend and go into the season red-hot.

 

[Puff]

are these trial games on kayo?

 

[Big Pete]

are these trial games on kayo?

Sure are, you should be able to watch your former team tonight in the Charity Shield as well as every game of the Pre-Season comp.

 

[Puff]

Sure are, you should be able to watch your former team tonight in the Charity Shield as well as every game of the Pre-Season comp.

watching the dolphins as we speak.

Watched the dragons. Or should I say the Steelers. I don't see any St George in that club anymore.

 

[Big Pete]

Dolphins 26 (Farnworth, Wallace, Bostock, Baira, Lemuelu tries; Isaako 0/1, Baira 3/4 goals) def. Gold Coast Titans 14

The Dolphins were able to overcome a gritty Titans outfit with a 12 point victory on the Sunshine Coast Falcons.

Despite naming a stronger line-up, the Dolphins struggled to put the Gold Coast away leaving it until the final quarter to claim bragging rights. It was a frustrating start for the Dolphins who found themselves on the wrong end of the penalty count and despite drawing first blood through new recruit Herbie Farnworth just couldn't settle into any rhythm.

Once they were able to get an even share of possession they were able to get on top but even so it took them a little longer than anticipated for them to hit the front. It wasn't until Jarrod Wallace strolled over mid-way through the second half they were able to get on top and by that point, both teams were digging deep into their depth chart.

I'd say the biggest positive for the Dolphins was new recruit Herbie Farnworth. He did well to score that opening try and was very involved with the attack even shifting to fullback at half-time to give the Dolphins some versatility. That should especially be handy around the Origin period where the Hammer will find himself on Origin duty, or even allow the pair to swap through out the game if they really need metres coming out of trouble.

The reserves played well. Burns, Baira, Plath sparked them to action and Jarrod Wallace once again found himself in the thick of the action.

It was far from a blow-away victory, but good to dust off the cob-webs and Herbie wasted very little time announcing himself at the club.