Dolphins defeat Penrith Panthers 30-12, fifth straight loss for defending premiers
The Panthers dynasty is on the brink of collapse, with Penrith needing to defy 117 years of rugby league history to defend their title after the Dolphins dealt them a fifth straight loss.
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King Nathan is in a slump and the Panthers dynasty is on the brink of collapse.
Penrith must defy 117 years of rugby league history to clinch a fifth straight NRL premiership after falling 30-12 to the resurgent Dolphins on Thursday night.
Hat-trick hero Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow guided the Dolphins to back-to-back wins before 19,103 at Suncorp Stadium, inflicting Penrith’s fifth straight defeat and anchoring the four-time premiers in the NRL’s bottom four.
No team in the game’s history has won a premiership after starting a season 1-5 – a predicament Ivan Cleary’s Panthers now find themselves in.
They face a momentous task to fight back and qualify for the finals, let alone win another premiership.
CLEARY’S CURSE
Panthers superstar Nathan Cleary is officially struggling.
Cleary had some nice touches, setting up Penrith’s first try for Casey McLean with a grubber, but he is well below his best.
The Panthers couldn’t have asked for any more ball and field possession in the opening half and only came up with one try.
Their attack was all at sea and not like the slick unit we’ve come to expect. They had 50 tackles inside Redcliffe’s 20m zone and barely looked like scoring.
Usually evasive and a step ahead of his rivals, Cleary has been smashed twice in the past two weeks.
Cowboys prop Coen Hess levelled him last week before Dolphins forward Josh Kerr got him on the blindside.
Cleary suffered a concussion a few weeks ago against Melbourne and hasn’t looked the same since.
His form is not only a concern for the Panthers.
State of Origin is only six weeks away and the Blues will be sweating on Cleary firing.
“I have faith in the boys, the team and club,” Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said.
“It’s obviously a little challenging at the moment, putting it mildly. We’re just not playing well enough for long enough.
“We need to turn that around, but once we do I feel we definitely can (go on a run).
“It’s definitely tough times at the moment.
“It’s pretty obvious our defence is not up to standard and that’s having a big effect on the rest of the game.”
BOSTOCK’S BLUNDER
Dolphins winger Jack Bostock had a great game until he came up with one of the most bizarre plays ever seen.
With the Panthers trailing 24-6, a Cleary kick in the 73rd minute looked destined to go dead until Bostock inexplicably kicked it back into play and straight into the hands of Penrith prop Moses Leota.
Leota planted the ball between the posts for a try to give the Panthers a sniff of victory.
The Dolphins ultimately held on, but Bostock’s blunder was one for the ages.
HAMMER TIME
The Hammer is back.
After a sluggish start to the season, Tabuai-Fidow has burst back to form in the past fortnight.
The Dolphins fullback sliced the Panthers apart with a first half double to help Redcliffe to an 18-6 lead at the break.
He may have missed the mark when he refused to dive on a loose ball in defence, but the Panthers couldn’t handle Tabuai-Fidow’s speed and guile.
He iced his treble in the final minute with a 60m effort and when he is flying the Dolphins are a different team.
“Those were tries only Hammer could score,” Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said.
“He made two try-saving tackles with his speed, effort and desire.
“It’s great to see him with that sort of form. It’s great to see him turn it around and play with a smile on his face.”
PENRITH DEFENCE
The Panthers built their title success on the NRL’s best defensive system.
They conceded an average of 16.4 points per game last season. This year they are averaging 28.3.
They have been ravaged by injuries this year but that never seemed to be a problem. The ‘next man up’ mentality was seamless.
Not anymore.
The Dolphins sliced through Penrith’s edges with ease and were barely touched.
This isn’t the Penrith of the past five years.
WOOLF BITES BACK
After losing his first four games as an NRL coach, Kristian Woolf has got the Dolphins flipping again.
The Phins have looked a different outfit over the past two rounds, thumping the Titans 36-10 before disposing of the reigning premiers.
Redcliffe was written off as wooden spoon contenders in the pre-season but have shown some fight to get their season rolling.
They host premiership favourites Melbourne on Good Friday and a win against the Storm would really make the NRL take notice.
“I’m really proud of our effort,” Woolf said.
“We put ourselves under more pressure than we needed to, but our defence was outstanding.
“We weren’t going to give them anything cheap which was great to see.
“It’s easy to start questioning things when you lose four in a row, but the team stuck together.”
RUB OF THE GREEN
The Panthers got completely dominated despite being on the right end of some dubious decisions.
None more so than the bizarre penalty gifted to McLean.
The Panthers centre somehow found himself doing a somersault after being slung by Dolphins winger Jamayne Isaako.
And he received a penalty for it, much to the confusion of many, including Isaako.
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Originally published as Dolphins defeat Penrith Panthers 30-12, fifth straight loss for defending premiers
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