Woolf: ‘We will see what we’re about’

The Dolphins NRL side are bracing for a tough game against the Warriors at Suncorp Stadium tomorrow and Head Coach Kristian Woolf wants his side to ‘go after the physical side of the game’ to put themselves in the contest.

The Dolphins are coming off a tough and gritty win against the Eels last round but face a big challenge in the coming two weeks – against the Warriors tomorrow (3pm kick off) and the Bulldogs in Sydney the following week.

“I was really happy with that win and it comes at a great time for us because we’re coming into a really challenging week. I’m not too worried about who we play the week after … the Warriors is a real challenge,” Woolf says.

“They’re sitting second on the ladder at the moment. I think they’ve won their last five games straight. They won … really close games … which shows they’ve got the capability to do that. That’s what a confident footy side does, so we need to have some confidence coming into it and we have.”

Woolf agrees the team’s performances in the coming fortnight will ‘go a long way’ to proving if they are in finals’ contention this year.

“We’re getting towards the middle of the year. We’ve certainly done some good things … we haven’t been consistent yet over long periods and we’re chasing that consistency,” he says.

“What I’ve liked about what our blokes have done … I thought we had a really good prep going into Parramatta last week. There was a point of difference about us and we played that way. I think we’ve backed that up this week.

“When you’re putting training sessions together like that, and weeks together like that, then you start building consistency and that’s really important for us at the moment.

“This is a big game. I want to see us throw a lot into it and we will see what we’re about.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re going after the physical side of the game that they’re going to bring first and we’re willing to match them there and put ourselves in the contest.”

Woolf says the squad has taken the same approach to preparation for the Warriors game as they do any other.

“Our routine’s our routine. We’ve always got an element of physicality about how we prepare,” he says.

“We haven’t done anything different in that sense in terms of how we put the week together but there’s definitely been a real show on the players that they’re ready for a big game and they need to be because it’s going to be that.”

The Dolphins will be without Daniel Saifiti, Max Plath and Jeremy Marshall-King again this week due to injury. Woolf hopes Plath and Marshall-King will be back for round 14 after the bye.