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The Dolphins played their first official game against NRL opposition – without their head coach. Wayne Bennett chose not to travel to Cairns for the game, instead leaving his assistant Kristian Woolf to oversee a 22-22 draw with the North Queensland Cowboys.
No reason was given for his absence, though he also missed last week’s pre-season meeting with Central Queensland Capras.
Elsewhere, the Broncos and Titans shared another close one, splitting the spoils in their second draw in as many trials. The pair drew 26 all last year and 24 all this time around.
Kevin Walters, who is reported to be close to signing an extension at Red Hill, gave some big guns a run with Reece Walsh debuting and Payne Haas, Kotoni Staggs and Herbie Farnworth involved. Walsh looked good for long periods, though left the field with what looked like a cheek injury.
In the early game, there was a mixed bag on offer from the debutant Dolphins. Anthony Milford set up their opener, but was binned on the stroke of half time for a professional foul.
David Fifita. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Valynce Te Whare looked hard to stop when he got the ball, but he didn’t get it anywhere near enough. The same could be said for Oliver Gildart.
The Cowboys put out their reggies and, in the end, fell just short. Given the disparity in experience on display, that’s not surprising. Some of their kids looked great, especially Tom Chester and Riley Price – son of Steve – and showed how bright things are in Townsville at the moment.
Later, the Broncos and Titans traded blows right until the final moments, with defences suspect at times but plenty of Queensland Cup-style flair on display. Here’s what we learned.
All eyes were on Reece Walsh’s debut back in Broncos colours, and he didn’t disappoint. He made his name in the trials before leaving Brisbane and returns with all the expectations in the world after a stellar stint at the Warriors.
The hype might well be real. Walsh was everywhere in his extended stint, scoring one and setting up another through a smart line break right up the middle that turned defence into attack.
If Brisbane can find a way to make his impacts from the back chime with Ezra Mam’s elusiveness at five eighth and the dual threats of Herbie Farnworth and Kotoni Staggs in the centres – not to mention Selwyn Cobbo and Corey Oates on the wing – then it could be one of the best backlines in the comp.
A significant part of that will be getting Walsh to pick his moments: at the Warriors, his moment was every moment because there was nobody else. At Brisbane, he gets the luxury of being one of several exceptional options.
It started as well as could have been hoped for him.
The softest underbelly in the NRL seems set to go around one more time if the Titans’ performance against Brisbane is anything to go by.
This wasn’t their best 13, but it might well have been their premier edge combinations, and they looked as flimsy as ever. The way that Reece Walsh was able to slice through the left edge early on was a huge klaxon sounding on the biggest issue that Justin Holbrook faced last year.
The Titans edges were the source of so many problems in 2022, and though two of the components have been taken out in Brian Kelly and Patrick Herbert, the structural issues clearly remain.
All of the Broncos’ first half tries arrived down that edge, with Philip Sami, Toby Sexton and Jojo Fifita struggling badly with both men in motion and kicks in behind.
The other side with Aaron Schoupp and Alofiana Khan-Pereira was a little more solid, but that doesn’t say much. They did offer a lot in attack, with AKP (as he will be known henceforth) proving that his finishing ability translates up from Q Cup.
Finishing, however, isn’t really Holbrook’s problem. It’s stopping the other team, and the left edge needs a lot of extra work on that front.
There’s been plenty of correspondence on how the Dolphins might go in their early days in the NRL. I spoke to cohesion expert Ben Darwin a few weeks back, and he suggested that the defence would be the last part to click into gear, with the attack coming sooner.
On the evidence of today, it is the other way around. The defensive intent and organisation seemed excellent, albeit against a far from full strength Cows, and in the second half they were able to repel repeated advances into their territory.
Bennett seems to have prioritised honest toilers, and they bring plenty of culture and intangibles with them. There’s the Bromwich brothers, Felise Kaufusi and Mark Nicholls at the upper end, but also guys like Jarrod Wallace and Ray Stone who are far from superstars but will at least throw their weight around. Guys like that got them home today.
(Photo by Emily Barker/Getty Images)
The problem will be that, against better teams, it won’t. The attacking from the newcomers was highly predictable and, if I’m being harsh, looked like it was being played out by a load of blokes who couldn’t get a gig at more established teams. Honest toilers, if you will.
Anthony Milford wasn’t impressive last year at a Newcastle team that finished 14th. Isiaya Katoa, the best of the bunch today, is yet to play NRL. Sean O’Sullivan, who didn’t feature here, is more of a controller than a creator. If Jamayne Isaako is the answer, I don’t want to know the question.
There’s a lot to be said for attacking systems and cohesion, but there has to be a general belief that the guys on the park can threaten the line and keep the defence accountable.
The tries that came when both sides were playing their best guys were a kick and a defensive error. Beyond that, it looked like they could have passed sideways forever.
The Cowboys are one of the best defensive teams in the comp and have plenty of experience in their systems. But they weren’t asked enough questions by a team that already looks like needs a superstar.
There’s Queensland, where the Dolphins – I think, though they won’t tell us – are from. There’s North Queensland, who they were playing, and Far North Queensland, where the game was held.
And yet, despite the Sunshine State being suffused through the game, the principal flavour for much of it was from even further up the map. It was a Kumulathon.
PNG, as even the most peripheral of rugby league fans knows, is a hotbed of the game, and their best and brightest tend to end up in the PNG Hunters, who play in the Q Cup. Plenty of them were on show today, on both sides.
Sylvester Namo was impressive for the Cowboys in a way that was not at all surprising to anyone who watched the Pacific Test or the World Cup last year, showing a typically Papua New Guinean desire to run it hard with the lowest centre of gravity possible, before crushing anyone else who might have a hold of the footy in the other team.
Stealing the show, however, was winger Robert Derby. He starred on this ground for the Northern Pride in 2022 and earned a top 30 deal with the Cowboys, and scored twice in this trial while also topping 200m – albeit helped by one runaway effort to score.
The Dolphins also showed their commitment to offering PNG Hunters a top grade chance, with Jeremiah Simbiken, Roderick Tai, Sherwin Tanabi and Judah Rimbu all named.
Someone, somewhere, is going to tap the well of talent that flows down from PNG. These two Queensland sides look as likely as any to do it, and fair play to them: it’s good for rugby league, and in all likelihood, good business for them too.