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Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett disagreed with the controversial sin-binning of his halfback Sean O’Sullivan during his side’s 20-14 win over the Raiders on Saturday.
O’Sullivan was marched late in the game when the referee believed he had hit Raiders lock Corey Harawira-Naera late, but Bennett did not see it that way.
“I’m just not sure where that was all going,” said Bennett.
“He kicked the ball in a bad position running flat out at Sean, and Sean was going in the opposite direction but in the same line.
“If there was head contact, then it was an absolute accident. At no stage did Sean try to tackle him….it was just two players making a collision. At the end of the day, our game is a collision game and they’ve got to recognise that.”
Bennett also felt the sin-binning of Raiders backrower Hudson Young when he was caught off-side at marker minutes before O’Sullivan’s was also harsh.
“I thought the other bin on them was tough as well,” Bennett added.
“It’s a huge price to pay for ten minutes in the bin.”
Despite the terrible weather and two players in bin, it was not enough to spoil the party of the Dolphins, who showed everyone they are a force to be reckoned with. It was a wet and soggy day for the newest franchise’s first-ever home game, and for most of the first half, they didn’t look like the team that had a mascot familiar with the water. While both teams were affected by the rain with errors and dropped ball, the Raiders adapted to the conditions better early on.
Canberra opened the scoring through some Jack Wighton class and found themselves out to a 12-0 lead at the 35-minute mark. Dolphins hooker Jeremy Marshall-King was sent to the sin bin late in the first half for a hip drop tackle on Corey Horsborough and the scoreline was expected to blow out further. But just before the halftime break the home side struck when flying fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and went to the sheds trailing 12-6.
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The scores were locked up when Dolphin Tom Gilbert scored in the 62nd minute, and the home side took the lead for the first time in the match thanks to a penalty kick after Young was marched for ten minutes. The teams were even on the board and for players on the field after O’Sullivan also found himself in the bin in a controversial call when he didn’t seem to make much contact at all on Harawira-Naera.
But it didn’t take long for the 14-all deadlock to be broken when The Hammer grabbed his second with three minutes to go.
Felise Kaufusi has just lifted to another level since his move from the cold of Melbourne to the beaches of ….well, you know.
He has a fire in his belly and is determined to cut in half anyone in his way. Last week he destroyed former teammate turned Rooster Brandon Smith in a tackle that most people at home felt, and he backed it up again with an absolute bellringer on Raider Hudson Young.
Kaufusi is on a mission.
They were the automatic choice for many to come last this season. Last week’s win against the Roosters was seen by some as a fluke. After another gutsy win, the NRL’s newest franchise have proved to everyone they are not just here to make up the numbers.
“They are not flashy, they haven’t got superstars, but they are competitive. Well done to the entire organisation.” said Fox League commentaor Shane Flanagan.
They are now higher on the ladder than the 2022 premiers and runners-up. Who would have picked that?
Felise Kaufusi. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
When Wighton is firing, so are the Raiders.
He was everywhere in the first half, with a massive 14 touches of the ball in just 23 minutes. He was quieter and more contained in the second half and it was noticeable. The Raiders lifted when he was in control, and he will be the key once again to their success in 2023.
“The more he is involved, the more chance there is of winning,” said Fox League commentator Mal Meninga.
They are ugly, scary and dangerous, and they need to go.
Dolphins hooker Jeremey Marshall-King was sin-binned late in the first half for a hip drop tackle on Raiders forward Corey Horsborough.
It’s one of those controversial tackles that has crept into the game, usually by the third man in, trying to pull down an attacker who just won’t stop. And I understand that one of the objectives of rugby league is to stop the opposition.
But this kind of tackle can have disastrous results, as we saw with Jackson Hastings who had his leg broken after being on the end of one from Pat Carrigan late last season.