Dolphins defeat Cowboys 58-4: Four tries to Jack Bostock in North Queensland demolition
Four tries to Jack Bostock helped the Dolphins run away with a 58-4 mauling of the Cowboys in North Queensland, with the rampant Redcliffe side set to finish the weekend inside the top eight.
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The Dolphins will finish the weekend inside the NRL top eight after stunning the Cowboys 58-4 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Saturday night.
After a horror 0-4 start to the Kristian Woolf era, the ex-Townsville coach has his side humming with seven wins in their last 10 outings.
Dolphins halves Isaiya Katoa and Kodi Nikorima continued their sizzling form while towering winger Jack Bostock cashed in with four tries.
In their past three games, the dazzling Dolphins have beaten their opponents (Bulldogs, Dragons and Cowboys) by a combined 140 points, scoring 158 while conceding just 18 points.
The Dolphins are now one of only six teams in premiership history to win three straight games by 36 or more points: Raiders four in 1994 and Roosters (1935), Storm (2021 and 2022) and Panthers (2021).
A try from tough-as-nails lock Kurt Donoghue on the stroke of halftime was a dagger to the hopes of the home side, but things went from bad to worse just after the break when a bad play-the-ball from Scott Drinkwater opened the door for Bostock to finish his hat-trick.
Herbie Farnworth was gifted a try by Nikorima late in the match when the five-eighth had already crossed the tryline, bringing Farnworth’s streak to eight consecutive games with a try – the longest run in club history.
"Everyone has contributed to what is an enormous win for the club!"
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) June 14, 2025
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The out-of-sorts and at times unrecognisable Cowboys limped their way to the finish line without threatening the Dolphins line, slumping to another disappointing defeat.
North Queensland has won just one of its past six games and coach Todd Payten will be feeling the heat this week in Townsville despite the June weather.
MILESTONE MEN
Jamayne Isaako celebrated his 150 NRL appearance in style, and although he didn’t cross for a try he made a big impact with his accurate goalkicking.
Two players on opposite ends of the experience spectrum gave the Cowboys plenty to play for with 19-year-old Kaiden Lahrs on debut while Jordan McLean brought up his 150th game for the Cowboys.
Nikorima helps Farnworth score for an 8th game in a row ðŸ¤
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) June 14, 2025
📺 Watch #NRLCowboysDolphins on ch. 502 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/dFjdc5KplV
âœï¸ BLOG: https://t.co/6am1UjLr5y
🔢 MATCH CENTRE: https://t.co/IvWDvEiG9npic.twitter.com/Fdd2bmObQw
Lahrs is the fourth Kirwan High graduate in recent memory to make his NRL debut as a teenager, joining the esteemed company of Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Jeremiah Nanai and Jason Taumalolo.
COWBOYS SHUFFLE
The Cowboys failed to capitalise on a numerical advantage in the first half when Dolphins skipper Felise Kaufusi was sent to the sin bin for dangerous contact on Tom Duffy, conceding a try while up a player.
North Queensland was forced to shuffle the already depleted line-up and a number of players found themselves in unfamiliar positions during the first half.
First, Jason Taumalolo was ruled out during warm-up with a calf complaint, shifting Karl Lawton to hooker and Harry Edwards to lock while Tom Duffy was elevated to the interchange from 18th man.
But head injury assessments (HIA) to Scott Drinkwater and Duffy inside the first 15 minutes made North Queensland’s line-up almost unrecognisable.
Young gun Jaxon Purdue moved to fullback while Griffin Neame found himself defending at backrow after Sam McIntyre moved to centre to allow Zac Laybutt to move into the halves.
Both players passed their HIAs, with Duffy coming back onto the field to play dummy half.
COWBOYS: 4 (M. Taulagi try)
DOLPHINS: 58 (J. Bostock (4), O. Keeley, K. Donoghue, J. Averillo, H. Farnworth, R. Stone, K. Nikorima tries; J. Isaako (9) goals)
Originally published as Dolphins defeat Cowboys 58-4: Four tries to Jack Bostock in North Queensland demolition
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