It was one of the biggest opening round shocks in recent memory as the Dolphins conquered premiership favourites the Roosters – can they prove it wasn’t a fluke when the NRL’s newest team plays their first home game against the Raiders at Kayo Stadium on Saturday?
Led by experienced forwards Felise Kaufusi and the Bromwich brothers, the Dolphins scored an astonishing 22 unanswered points after falling behind early to stun the Roosters and record their first victory in emphatic fashion.
However, the challenge now is coming down from the euphoria of that afternoon and putting it all together again, week in and week out over the course of the season.
Wayne Bennett is a master coach and knows every trick in the book, but the fact remains this Dolphins roster is vastly inexperienced (mainly the halves and backline) and we’ll see how they respond here.
This game will be sold out, and the crowd will be behind the Dolphins, which is fantastic. I support this team no matter what the result.
The Raiders meanwhile clawed their way back from an 18-0 deficit to draw level with the Cowboys in Townsville last week, only for a Chad Townsend field goal to prove their undoing in a 19-18 defeat in the dying stages.
Canberra enjoyed an excellent season last year to make the finals and beat the Storm first up and will be hoping for another chance by finishing in the top eight again this campaign.
Josh Papalii remains sidelined for the Raiders through injury, with Jordan Rapana also out suspended for the next three games. Albert Hopoate comes onto the wing as his replacement.
It’s tempting to jump on the Dolphins bandwagon, but I’m going to need to see more before backing them.
The fact remains, their halves and backline have got to be up there with the worst (on paper) in the NRL, although their forward pack is very strong and they are being guided by the best coach in history.
Nevertheless, we can see the Dolphins struggling with the weight of sudden expectation in front of their home fans. The Raiders are a very underrated and solid side and have won their last six games as favourites. They pushed a much stronger team in the Cowboys last week, so if they can maintain that level, they should be able to get the job done here .
Dolphins team: 1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Euan Aitken 4. Brenko Lee 5. Tesi Niu 6. Isaiya Katoa 7. Sean O’Sullivan 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Jeremy Marshall-King 10. Jarrod Wallace 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Kenny Bromwich 13. Tom Gilbert 14. Connelly Lemuelu 15. Mark Nicholls 16. Mason Teague 17. Kurt Donoghoe 18. Poasa Faamausili 19. JJ Collins 20. Kodi Nikorima 21. Anthony Milford 22. Robert Jennings
Raiders team: 1. Sebastian Kris 2. Nick Cotric 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Harley Smith-Shields 5. Albert Hopoate 6. Jack Wighton 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Pasami Saulo 9. Danny Levi 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Corey Harawira-Naera 14. Tom Starling 15. Ata Mariota 16. Corey Horsburgh 17. Emre Guler 18. James Schiller 19. Matt Frawley 20. Zac Woolford 21. Trey Mooney 22. Peter Hola
Prediction. The Dolphins I believe will try all game to repeat the first up win over the Roosters. I have loved Wayne Bennett all his career so my heart says Dolphins, but Raiders should be too good here.
However, I have found the Dolphins @ 9.5 points start @$1.49 Interesting
Read this too!!
Comments