Hammer: ‘I’ll wait until I see him’

Dolphins NRL Head Coach Kristian Woolf has a couple of options in play if star fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow needs to be rested, for tomorrow night’s clash with the Sharks in Sydney, after a strong performance in the Maroons’ Origin win last night.

Redcliffe favourite Trai Fuller could step in, as he has done previously, or Woolf could shift Jake Averillo to fullback and play Central Queensland Capras winger Tevita Naufahu on the wing in what would be his NRL debut.

“We’ll probably keep that one to ourselves and figure it out on the run,” Woolf said at training today.

See the photo gallery at the end of this story.

“We’re going to take 19 players (but) all indications are that Hammer’s fine. It helps when they’ve had a win. They come in on a high and want to play and want to back up.

“I haven’t heard from him yet. I’ll wait until I get to Sydney … All indications are at the moment that he’s going to be fine, so we’re preparing for him to play. I’ll wait until I see him to make a final decision.

“We wouldn’t put him at risk. If he’s got bumps and bruises, then we’ll obviously play it cautiously.”

Woolf loved what he saw in Tabuai-Fidow’s performance for Queensland last night.

“I know what Hammer looks like at his best and that’s what you saw last night. You just know if you give him an opportunity, he’s going to make it count. I loved watching him put his body on the line like that and saving tries … I thought he was great,” he said.

“I’m really happy for him. I’m really happy he got that opportunity … I’m sure we’ll see plenty of that in the future.”

Halfback Isaiya Katoa and prop Josh Kerr will return to the Dolphins after being part of Origin camps for the Blues and Maroons respectively.

O’Sullivan to step up

With five-eighth Kodi Nikorima sidelined until at least round 23, due to a hamstring injury, Sean O'Sullivan returns to the side in his fourth appearance of the season, partnering with Katoa in the halves.

“He’s trained in the halves all preseason, whether it be (at) six or seven. It’s something I think could really work for us. It was an easy decision because he’s done a really good job for us. I’ve been really happy with Sean when he’s played for us, when he’s played Queensland Cup. He was next in line,” Woolf said.

“I’m really confident in what he can do. Sean’s a very good football player … go back to 2023, Sean was our halfback and we had some really good wins in that year and we played some really good footy, and a lot of that was on the back of him. Nothing’s changed, he’s just as talented.

“He brings his own type of footy. I don’t want him to go out there and try to be Kodi. I want him to go out there and be Sean, play to his potential and his strengths. If he does that, and him and Isaiya complement each other really well, we’re going to play well.”

Coming off a bye, the Dolphins will be keen to maintain the momentum they had before the break which has them seventh on the NRL ladder.

“I’ve been really happy with how our players have handled the byes this year. I think it’s something we’ve done really well,” Woolf said.

“Our last bye, we came out of that … we had a bit of an idea of how we thought we’d handle it in terms of training loads and everything else. Forget the result for a minute (56-6 win over the Dragons) … the freshness that I saw in the players, the way they trained that week, the way they went out and played with a real energy … that told me that we got that right.

“We followed a similar blueprint this time (and) I’m seeing similar signs.”

Woolf says his side will need to come out firing to beat the Sharks who are desperate to get back into the top eight.

“They’re a top-four or top-five team. There’s no doubt about that and I think everyone had them at that sort of prediction at the start of the year. Their talent hasn’t changed, they’re pretty unaffected by Origin, they’re pretty unaffected by injury, they’ve got a very good side that they’ve named,” he said.

“We know that we have to be at our absolute best and I’m expecting them to be at their best. It’s going to be a great challenge for us. If we’re serious about trying to do, what we’d like to do in the competition, we’re going to play well in these games.”

Round 19: The Dolphins play the Sharks at Sharks Stadium tomorrow night (kick off 8pm).

Training photo gallery

By Dominika Lis