Source :- THE AGE NEWS
At times, it was chaotic. At others, controversial. And in the case of Mark Nawaqanitawase, some of Friday night was utterly freakish. Each moment culminated in the Dolphins’ fairytale run being brought undone 36-20 in their preliminary final showdown with the Sydney Roosters.
But for all the hurt Redcliffe will feel at having their maiden grand final dreams derailed in front of 52,286 fans at Suncorp Stadium, their fourth season in the NRL has announced them as a contender – one which would be searching for some refinements come November’s preseason launch.
“One thing about this group is we’re definitely motivated. We wanted to be there next week as much as any team in the comp, and at the end of the day, the realisation in the group is we have a great squad that can do that and achieve those things,” Dolphins co-captain Tom Gilbert said.
“It’s a disappointed change room, but I know with the right preseason and right time off that we can propel this into a better season next year.”
The opening 15 minutes were gruelling, with both sides exchanging sets error-free. Halfback Isaiya Katoa was seen limping and looking ginger from an early hit up, with Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf conceding he was hindered by the issue and would require scans to determine its severity, and there was a feeling the Roosters were on top of the battle, courtesy of Naufahu Whyte’s dominance – running 119 of his 205 metres by halftime – against a smaller Dolphins’ pack.
That was until the Kiwi enforcer made the first mistake of the game. Redcliffe would soon earn the first six-again and penalty of the clash, and with those, a genuine chance to attack, only for Nawaqanitawase to break the deadlock with a moment of magic that has defined his two-year rugby league foray.
Latching onto a Herbie Farnworth pass which would have put Selwyn Cobbo over untouched, the former Wallabies flyer claimed the intercept and streaked the length of the field. It was a play which, for a 10-minute period, appeared to break the Dolphins’ spirit – a Kurt Donoghoe knock-on coming out of trouble and a high tackle by Morgan Knowles giving Sydney the opportunities they needed to strike through Victor Radley and Daniel Tupou.
“We did all but score with that first opportunity – it was a great take from Mark to take the intercept and go the length, but if he doesn’t take that, we score, and you’re looking at very different momentum,” Woolf said.
“We didn’t quite recover.”
A Jamayne Isaako double either side of halftime had the Redcliffe faithful salivating at the thought of a sixth triumph of the year after trailing at halftime, with the winger’s first awarded in controversial circumstances given how tight his putdown was to the sideline.
Yet, just when the NRL’s newest franchise looked on track for a colossal fightback, another ‘Marky Mark’ miracle and contentious decision shattered them.
When Nawaqanitawase caught Daly Cherry-Evans’ cross-field kick, working his way towards the line and managing to find a shovelled pass back for Robert Toia to score as he was dragged over the sideline, he produced an instance that will leave Dolphins fans seething as they debate whether the enigmatic winger went into touch, and how forward his pass appeared to be.
But the Dolphins can only blame themselves for conceding what was, ultimately, the blow that opened the floodgates, as Farnworth and Cobbo both sat back on the kick and allowed one of the game’s freakiest talents to have his way with them.
It was barely a contest from that point as Lindsay Collins barged over soon after, before Queensland Maroons halfback Sam Walker completed his miracle recovery from a syndesmosis injury – putting Radley away for a linebreak, which set up Nawaqanitawase’s second try, before scoring himself with a sharp left-foot step.
It was nothing more than consolation points when Katoa laid on a good short ball for Kulikefu Finefeuiaki to barge across, before Tabuai-Fidow and Cobbo were finally able to combine and put Farnworth over two minutes later.
It took another Nawaqanitawase intercept to shut down the attacking raid in the following set, and would have left Dolphins fans pondering where that same lethal offence had been for the opening 75 minutes. But what Woolf lamented the most was his side’s goal line defence, with the tries to Radley, Walker and Lindsay Collins all coming straight from the ruck pass at close range.
“What we’ve been doing so well over the back end of the year is defending our line, that’s been a real strength of ours and probably gone a little bit unrecognised,” Woolf said.
“To allow the three tries that were one-off the ruck was disappointing for us, we just haven’t allowed those for a long time.”
It would have taken something truly meteoric for the Dolphins to have turned their first finals campaign into a grand final appearance. But the framework for success is there if they can stay the course and keep their litany of off-contract stars on the books.
Are they lacking the size of a Whyte to match it with the best, after Finefeuiaki finished as the only Dolphins forward to surpass 100 running metres? Or is it a matter of starting games better, having developed a concerning habit of conceding the first points of a match despite winning eight games straight on two occasions throughout the campaign?
Whatever it may be, there is plenty for the Dolphins to look towards, even with Kodi Nikorima, Jamayne Isaako, Jake Averillo and Ray Stone leaving the club.
“I don’t think we’ve hit our ceiling yet. I don’t think we’ve quite hit our absolute peak through the year, we’ve had patches of them and really good periods … we’re building consistency, learning how to win and win different ways, and that’s not something we’ve been able to do in previous years,” Woolf said.
“I have no doubt we’re on the up as a squad; we’re a young squad getting better each year. We’ll be better again next year.”
