‘It’s a great sign of a footy team’
Dolphins Head Coach Kristian Woolf had confidence his side could beat the Cowboys, despite an injury list that would paralyse other clubs.
He was right. His troops played with confidence, heart and attacking flair in downing the Cowboys 43-24 at Suncorp Stadium last night.
The Dolphins are missing 10 players from their 30-man squad due to injury but refuse to see that adversity as a reason to give up on their goal to play finals footy this season.
It has instead given rising stars a chance to play on the NRL stage and make a meaningful contribution to their team and club.
Fans are witnessing an exciting glimpse into the future and the coach is also enjoying the spectacle.
“I said yesterday, we’re not worried about who’s not in the team ... the blokes who are out there ... I just love the way they keep turning up for each other,” Woolf said.
“It was great for Pete Hola to come in and make a debut for the club and have an influence on the game. Guys like Aublix (Tawha) and Tevita Naufahu ... they just get better every week. It’s great to watch and it’s great for the club and great for the squad.”
The Dolphins went to the halftime break up 24-6, despite the Cowboys having more possession, a higher completion rate, and fewer errors and missed tackles.
They kept the momentum going after the break, scoring two quick tries before the Cowboys mounted a comeback and crossed three times in less than 10 minutes.
“That’s a little learn for us there. I just thought we stopped competing as hard as we probably were prior to that. The two tries straight after halftime probably allowed us to feel like it was done a little bit there,” Woolf said.
“What I’m really happy with, is we were able to turn that around too and we defended a couple of sets there under some real pressure, we turned around and we found points. It’s a great sign of a footy team.”
Mr fix-it
Jake Averillo was in scintillating form, helping spark the Dolphins’ attack from five-eighth in the round 20 clash.
Woolf explained his decision to put Averillo in the No.6 jersey instead of Sean O’Sullivan, who had been named to play in that position earlier in the week.
“I love what he brings to the team. Wherever we put him, he gets the job done. I think he’s played four positions in the last five weeks or something like that and he’s done every one of them really well. It’s great having a guy like that in our team,” Woolf said.
“I just felt that last week we didn’t get the attack on that we needed and we were a little bit vulnerable on that left edge. He brings a running game, he brings a support game, and he brings a very good defensive game.”
Captain Isaiya Katoa was delighted with the win, which he says ranks highly in the club’s short history.
“It’s probably up there as one of the better wins as a club with just the fact that you’ve got guys like Tevita, Peter, Aublix, Oryn and Kurt all playing first grade week-in, week-out. And taking the opportunities and being confident about it,” he said.
“I just love the way that they’ve come into the team, brought their own strengths but also really bought into what the team needs as well.
“I love the balance of the confidence that we’re playing with at the moment and it’s probably up there as one of the better wins as a club.”
So, how important is this win ahead of bye and the pointy end of the season?
“It keeps us in the race. With six games to go, we’re nine and nine, and you need to be around that to play finals,” Woolf said.
“We’d love to play finals. We’ve put ourselves in a great position and had to work really hard because of a slow start. It’s in our hands, what we do with it over the last six games.”
The Dolphins have a bye next round and are hoping “at least two” players will be fit to return to the side for the game against the Warriors in New Zealand in round 22, most likely Mark Nicholls and Felise Kaufusi.
Game photo gallery
By Dominika Lis