Tom Dearden kicked off his reign as captain with a five-star display as the Cowboys embarrassed the Dolphins 43-18 at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday with fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow coming up with an early contender for blunder of the season and a late penalty try also raising eyebrows.
The Dolphins had a fairytale start to NRL life at Suncorp Stadium last year with a win for the ages over the Sydney Roosters, but 32,477 fans were silenced on this occasion by a rampant Cowboys outfit.
Their dreadful performance was compounded by another injury. Second-rower Connelly Lemuelu is facing an extended stint on the sidelines after dislocating his kneecap, joining Maroons forward Tom Gilbert (ACL tear) in the long-term injury ward.
As bad as the Dolphins were, the Cowboys were excellent in all areas of the game.
With Dearden and Maroons forward Reuben Cotter surprisingly taking over as co-captains from Jason Taumalolo and Chad Townsend in the off-season, North Queensland entered 2024 with question marks over their chances after they missed the playoffs last year.
But with premiership-winning playmaker James Maloney coming on board in the off-season as an assistant coach, their attack looked much better as they raced to a 31-12 half-time lead before closing out the result in the second stanza.
It was exactly the fast start coach Todd Payten had called for after the Cowboys missed last year’s finals.
“We played some nice footy to begin with and put some points on the board,” Payten said.
“I’m just happy to sit in the sheds with the boys after a long pre-season and enjoy the hard work we have put in. It’s only round one. It”s a marathon, not a sprint, so it is important that we capitalise on this.”
The Dolphins’ defence on the edges was ragged and the visitors made them pay.
Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater and centre Valentine Holmes were a constant threat.
Holmes had the measure of his opposite number Herbie Farnworth, who made little impact on his NRL debut for the hosts.
Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett said it was a disappointing display but was confident side could bounce back.
“They found us out on fifth and last plays, not too many other areas,” Bennett said. “I’ve got a good group of guys that work really hard.
“We had a bad day. We’ve got 23 games to go. If we put it behind us quickly we’ll be a lot better off than if we drag it out. We’ll keep it stable and not overreact.”
North Queensland needed just two minutes to cross the stripe with Zac Laybutt beginning his impressive effort by wrongfooting opposing centre Tesi Niu near halfway.
The Dolphins hit back when ex-Broncos prop Tom Flegler barged over in his first match with the Redcliffe club but Dearden was awarded a controversial try in the 11th minute when he appeared to ground the ball on Hamison Tabuai-Fidow’s leg before possibly getting the ball on the stripe.
Herbie Farnworth is tackled by Murray Taulagi. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
It was 18-4 midway through the first half when Jeremiah Nanai touched down and when Kyle Feldt backed up a Laybutt line, the visitors were up by 20.
Dolphins forward Josh Kerr stemmed the bleeding with a try from close range before Valentine Holmes sent wingman Murray Taulagi over with a questionable final pass.
Chad Townsend extended the lead to 19 with a field goal just before half-time and they went 37-12 up when second-rower Heilum Luki benefited from a bizarre own goal from Tabuai-Fidow.
Feldt made a break down the left flank and kicked ahead, The Hammer could have dived onto the ball but instead kicked it and the Steeden went straight to Luki who cruised over for the easiest of tries.
Laybutt was awarded a penalty try in the 68th minute when he was pushed away by Jack Bostock at the last moment when he was chasing through a Townsend grubber near the dead-ball line.
“I see there was contact but there wasn’t enough to say a penalty try,” Fox League expert Cooper Cronk said in commentary. “I don’t think the try would have been scored.”
Tabuai-Fidow came up with a moment of redemption late in the contest when his sizzling kick return set up a consolation try to Bostock.
It was an afternoon to forget for the Dolphins who lacked penetration and energy.
with AAP
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Congrats on the win and your Cowboys landing on top of the NRL ladder, jimmmy. As for all the praise being heaped on young Laybutt, he had a good game but I'll reserve judgement until later in the season. One thing I can say is that Laybutt is a clear upgrade on Hiku.
Short Memory
Roar Rookie
Hilarious... but mathematically impossible for the Tigers to end the round in the 8 unless one of the games ended in a draw. Nevertheless, we were in the 8 until last night's game was played... :laughing: And I expect we're going to have to be content with that for the season.
Gary Russell-Sharam
Roar Rookie
Watched the game and they missed Averillo and also I was at Toowoomba watching Uwen Aitken playing Q cup and having a blinder, they were both missed in a very ordinary performance by the Fins Also I have never been a fan of Jessie Niu he is just not quite there, and that added to Farnworth struggling a bit. The Cowboys were good though Deardon played really well
rakshop
Roar Rookie
Not sure what to make of this game.... The Boys were ok but its hard to judge because the Dolphins were woeful. You're right about the back 5 making yardage - geez it makes a big difference to the Cowboys when they lay a good platform. Still not sold on Robson playing 80. He "can" play 80 minutes, but it doesnt mean he "should" play 80 minutes. When he is fresh he looks like one of the most threatening players in the comp. But it is very noticeable that he doesnt have the same punch at the back end of the half/s. This can lead to the Cowboys a playing little more side-to-side, and thus becomming a more predictable, particularly when attacking in there own 20. I wonder if there is a rotation between Robson/McIntye/Granville that could be considered that doesnt burn a sub of having to get Robson off then on again.
matth
Roar Guru
A distinct lack of speed, but with Averillo out of the squad. I'm not sure what happened in the off seasn, but surely now he comes in for Nui?
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Bizarre Hammer blunder... We were all Waiting for The Hammer to Fall.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Yep! I have been questioning why Tesi Nui is even in their NRL team? He offers very little but errors, and yesterday his game was atrocious, making Laybutt look a super star. Their left edge defence was awful and they need to rethink playing O'Sullivan in front of Katoa ? Apart from Hammer, there seems a distinct lack of speed across the Dolphins team.
Albo
Roar Rookie
But he was easily their best forward.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Yep ! Just look at Laybutt's terrible opponent yesterday ! What is he doing in the NRL at all?
G - DAD
Roar Rookie
Agree with all that , plus the Dolphins have Averillo and TeWhare waiting on the sidelines and maybe the Hammer’s best position is centre .
Maxtruck
Roar Rookie
Flegler realizing life as a clubs Number 1 forward not so easy without Hass and Carrigan.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Genuine centres , I was thinking they were as dead as the hooking hooker.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Just put a line through that Matt. They are a better team than that . Not sure what went wrong but Wayne will sort it. On thenother hand Gilbert is the biggest out of any team in the comp. He is a standard setter and while I don't think he turns that effort into a win they are a mile closer with him playing . I feel so sorry for him and for the Phins fans.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
His runs out of yardage were exceptional and his pace off the mark worried all their defenders.
matth
Roar Guru
So much wrong about that Dolphins performance. I’ve supported Tesi Nui, given he was thrown into first grade as a teen and is young, but that was the worst game I’ve seen in a long long time. Stone tries but is no Gilbert. Our left edge defense was terrible before Lemuelu had to go off so it only got worse. Why put Plath out there and not Kenny B? Zero creativity by the halves meaning Herbie generally only saw the ball doing hot ups or from a standing start. On the bright side that was Josh Kerr’s best game for us. That’s about all the positives there were.
Blink
Roar Rookie
What a stupid penalty try. The bunker person wasn't up to first class standard. Nor the B grade ref. Luckily the game wasn't close so the decisions didn't have a bearing on the result. Laybutt looks to be a star. Great acceleration. The Dolphins No 3 was woeful.
Tom G
Roar Rookie
Laybutt is a star
Tom G
Roar Rookie
Actually, I gave the Tigers a five point start against the bye
souvalis
Roar Rookie
JT played the first 22′ tackled well (13) and ran with abt the same force as McClean. That was the end of his afternoon, didn’t see him get injured or looking damaged. Looks like he needs a new club. OTOH Val was absolutely outstanding.
Phil
Roar Rookie
Wayne left something at home today for sure. His team looked like a bunch of players thrown together for a trial game. As much as they tried, very little came of it. Maybe Wayne has lost his gloss, but, it's only R1.