A piece of Herbie Farnworth magic has helped the Dolphins to a gritty 20-16 win over the Eels, who threatened a late comeback but are rooted to the bottom of the ladder and face a tricky Origin period if their biggest stars get picked again by the Blues.
This was a crucial clash between two teams that suffered 10-point defeats at Magic Round, with the Dolphins getting their season back on track despite being on the wrong end of a lopsided penalty count.
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MATCH CENTRE: Eels vs Dolphins live updates, score, stats
“I thought we showed a lot of fight,” Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said post-game.
“We got challenged in so many ways… but we just had to come up with really good efforts to save tries at different times.”
The Eels had jumped out to a 12-6 lead early in the second half when Dylan Walker’s no-look pass put Matt Doorey into a yawning gap, but that’s as good as it got for the hosts who conceded two quick tries to slump to their seventh loss of the season.
After Kodi Nikorima set up his second try of the evening, it was Farnworth’s turn to torture the Eels as he received a pass inside his own half and burst through some flimsy defence to score a 60-metre try.
Jamayne Isaako then slotted a penalty goal to seal the result with nine minutes to go, with Mitch Moses blowing up at the crusher tackle call against his side.
Dylan Brown scored in the 72nd minute to keep the Eels’ hopes alive and came close to a second in the dying seconds but Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow produced a try-saving tackle to finish the game.
DOLPHINS HAVE FOUND THEIR BEST HALVES COMBO
After a couple of seasons of tweaking the halves it seems the Dolphins have found their match with champion playmaker Cooper Cronk declaring the Isaiya Katoa and Kodi Nikorima combination is “without a doubt” the team’s best option.
The Dolphins’ launched their inaugural NRL season in 2023 with Katoa at five-eighth and O’Sullivan at halfback but former coach Wayne Bennett wasn’t sold on that pairing. Katoa was benched at one stage, while Jake Averillo had a short stint at five-eighth.
Since taking over as head coach, Kristian Woolf has gone in on the Nikorima-Katoa pairing and it’s paying dividends with their combination getting stronger by the week.
Both had an impact on Thursday’s win over the Eels with Katoa playing a key role in the Dolphins’ opening try when he “bamboozled” the defence at first receiver with a dummy before sending the ball through Nikorima, to Jack Bostock on the wing.
“That is top-shelf from the young halfback. He’s doing things that 10-year halfbacks struggle to do — it’s impressive to watch,” Cronk said.
Nikorima then showed his class later in the game when he produced a fake grubber before setting up Connelly Lemuelu.
When asked by commentator Andrew Voss if the Dolphins had found their best halves pairing, Cronk said “without a doubt, they complement one another and I love the fact they’re playing on the same side of the field.”
EELS SLIP AWAY
This was one that got away for the Eels who had their chances at the death to steal a win in front of a modest crowd at home.
Just when the game looked over, Parramatta clicked into gear with a brilliant offload unleashing Iongi who found Dylan Brown in support to get them within four.
Brown and Addo-Carr then made long breaks in the final five minutes, with the winger streaking clear in the final 60 seconds and finding his five-eighth who tried to turn the fullback inside out but ended up losing the ball instead.
“In the end we just weren’t good enough,” Jason Ryles said.
“We didn’t execute our opportunities, and that’s what got us in the end.”
It was a costly loss for the Eels who will likely be without Mitchell Moses for Origin, while Zac Lomax is also in the mix depending on how he performs in his return from injury next week.
At least Lomax will provide them with some quality off the tee with Sean Russell missing two conversions that would have sent the game into golden point if he’d nailed them.
To make matters worse, winger Bailey Simonsson failed to finish the game with a left foot injury.
WALKER’S ON (FIRE)!
He may not be in the ‘buy of the season’ conversation just yet but Dylan Walker is proving to be a shrewd mid-season pick-up for the Eels.
The 30-year-old has become the Eels’ supersub and not just because of his versatility — Walker can cover lock, hooker, halves and centres. The former Warrior, who changed clubs three weeks into the season, is providing genuine spark off the bench.
That was evident when his slick no-look pass set up Matt Doorey under the posts.
“That is disguise and deception from a middle forward just playing slow tempo and toying with the defence… very, very impressive,” Cooper Cronk said in commentary.
“This is a guy who started his career in the centres… he’s moved around a little bit but has really found his home playing through the middle as a ball-playing 13. Dylan Walker has improved out of sight.”
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TEAMS
Eels: 1. Isaiah Iongi 2. Bailey Simonsson 3. Viliami Penisini 4. Sean Russell 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Jack Williams 9. Ryley Smith 10. Junior Paulo 11. Charlie Guymer 12. Kitione Kautoga 13. J’maine Hopgood 14. Dylan Walker 15. Luca Moretti 16. Jordan Samrani 17. Matt Doorey. 18th man: 19. Joash Papali’i
Dolphins: 1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Jake Averillo 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Jack Bostock 6. Kodi Nikorima 7. Isaiya Katoa 8. Francis Molo 9. Kurt Donoghoe 10. Felise Kaufusi 11. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki 14. Ray Stone 13. Tom Gilbert 12. Connelly Lemuelu 15. Mark Nicholls 16. Josh Kerr 18. Harrison Graham. 18th man: 17. Sean O’Sullivan
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