Dolphins NRL: Bennett ‘we just had a bad day’

Published 7:02pm 10 March 2024

Dolphins NRL Head Coach Wayne Bennett says he will work to stabilise the squad after their round one 43-18 loss to the Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium this afternoon.

See photos from the game at the end of this story

“I’ve got a good group of guys there that work really hard and are committed to the club. We just had a bad day,” Bennett said.

“We’ve got 23 days to go so if we put it behind us pretty quickly, we’ll be better off than if we drag it out and make it worse than what it was. That’s what we’ve got to handle now.”

Bennett says it was a disappointing performance and he will make changes ahead of the side’s round two clash against the Dragons next Sunday at Redcliffe’s Kayo Stadium.

It follows injuries to Connelly Lemuelu (suspected dislocated knee) and Ray Stone (HIA).

Today’s team’s schooling by the Cowboys, who capitalised on mistakes and penalties and found gaps in defence, will also likely prompt changes.

“They found us out on the fifth and last plays. They didn’t find us out in too many other areas,” Bennett says.

Captain Jesse Bromwich says the whole team is disappointed with the result.

“We’ll look at what we need to fix and work really hard at doing that,” Bromwich says.

Bennett confirmed news, which broke during the game broadcast, that sidelined prop Tom Gilbert has suffered a blood clot which reportedly moved from his knee (ACL) injury to his lung. It is expected that the clot discovery will delay the surgery Gilbert needs.

“I can tell you what we know and what we know is that there’s no definite conclusion about when the operation is going to be,” Bennett says.

“He did have a blood clot, but that’s been resolved … It’s an ongoing examination with the doctors and we don’t have a definite answer about what’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen. We’re not going to speculate on that.

“He was never going play this season anyway. No one was rushing around to get him an operation. It’s no more serious than the day he injured his leg. He’s OK. He’s here today.”