Second-half lapse proves costly

As the old sporting cliché goes, it was a game of two halves for the Dolphins against the Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium last night with the home side dominating in the first and NRL heavyweights Souths firing in the second to win 36-14.

Dolphins captain Jesse Bromwich said an error early in the second half was the start of a bad run for his side, compounded by the sin binning of his brother Kenny Bromwich in what he called a stupid play.

It was a reversal of form from the first half in which the Dolphins dominated in front of a crowd of more than 23,000.

Their left-edge attack was firing with Nikorima perfectly placing the ball for Robert Jennings and Euan Aitken to work their magic.

The Dolphins’ defence was first-class in the opening half, containing their opponent’s star playmakers, but they allowed them to run rampant in the second.

There were tries to Aitken (in the first two minutes) and Jeremy Marshall-King (33^rd minute) in the round seven game, with a penalty goal and two successful conversions (Isaako) taking the Dolphins to a 14-6 lead at half-time.

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Photos by Dominika Lis

Sadly, they would score no tries in the second half dominated by strong Souths’ attack and defence in which they ran in five tries.

Dolphins Head Coach Wayne Bennett said the team who ran out in the second half did not play as they did in the first.

He questioned what he believed to be a push in the back on Aitken which knocked him out of play and resulted in a Souths’ try at a crucial moment, but says it did not determine how the second half played out.

Bromwich said sides like Souths were hard to stop when they gained momentum and he was disappointed with his team's performance after half-time.

He said there were plenty of lessons to take from the loss and he would do what he could as captain to ensure he and his team learnt them.