Woolf: ‘I’ve liked what I’ve seen in our group this week’
The Dolphins have made some ‘adjustments’ in a bid to arrest a poor away record and patchy performances in recent weeks, as they prepare to take on the Eels in Sydney tomorrow night (7.50pm).
Head Coach Kristian Woolf says he’s liked what he’s seen at training this week.
“I think we’ve only won three games outside of Queensland. It is something that we need to be a little bit better at. It’s certainly something that … not this week … but we’ve raised previously with the group. It’s something we’ve tried to tinker with our preparation a little bit,” Woolf says.
“If I look at the way we’ve put the week together and what we’ve shown this week in terms of our main session on Monday … I’ve really liked what I’ve seen out of the session today … that’s the start of our preparation. That gives us the best chance.
“We’ve made a couple of little adjustments and I’d like to think that’s going to help us.”
Woolf is wary of the Eels and refutes any suggestion they will be easy-beats because of their position at the bottom of the NRL ladder.
“I don’t think you can look at them that way at all. Since Mitch Moses has been back, in particular. They’re a good footy side and they’re a very different footy side with him in it,” he explains.
“It’s unlocked Dylan Brown and it’s unlocked other players as well.
“This is a tough game of footy for us and it’s an important game of footy for us as well. We know that we’re going to have to be at our best because they’re a dangerous side. You watch their last couple of performances, they’ve certainly shown that.”
The Dolphins are at 14th, following their 36-26 loss to the Roosters during Magic Round last week.
“We’ve certainly got to get some wins if we think we’re going to play finals. Where they come from doesn’t really matter. People didn’t think we were going to beat Penrith or beat Melbourne. We managed to get those two wins,” Woolf says.
“I think it’s about our preparation and ourselves and what we bring every week rather than getting caught up with where the opposition sit on the ladder.”
Welcome return
Dolphins’ hardman Felise Kaufusi will return to the starting lineup, with Mark Nicholls moving to the interchange bench.
Kurt Donoghoe will play at hooker with Jeremy Marshall-King again sidelined due to a cut on his leg which has opened up again and needs more time to heal.
Max Plath will also miss the game due to a foot injury and Daniel Saifiti is still out. Captain Tom Gilbert has recovered from a sternum knock at training on Monday and will play tomorrow night.
“He (Kaufusi) brings us leadership, he brings us a real toughness in the middle. We have been short there, if you look at what we think our starting pack would be. We haven’t been anywhere near that the last couple of weeks, particularly in the middle,” Woolf says.
“That hurts but it’s also an opportunity to show what we’re about as a team and as squad and show how we’re going to overcome those hurdles.”
Woolf says players have recognised their patchy performances during the past fortnight and ‘addressed it’.
“We need to make sure that we get our preparation right to go and make the changes physically. I’ve liked what I’ve seen in our group this week in terms of our preparation. It’s been a little bit different to the last couple of weeks, so that’s our starting point,” he says.
“It doesn’t mean you get results straight away. What we did really well at the start of the year was we kept ticking off really good sessions and building really good habits and that eventually shone through. I’m happy with the way they’ve progressed there.”