By Nick Wright
Herbie Farnworth’s first meeting with his former club has all but buried their finals ambitions, and he looms as the Dolphins’ most crucial weapon in their quest for a maiden finals berth.
The English centre, who went within a Nathan Cleary masterclass of winning a premiership with the Brisbane Broncos, was unstoppable for his new outfit to continue a surge of form that has cemented his status as one of the NRL’s leading outside backs.
It was poetic that Farnworth was the man who ended the Dolphins’ run of poor second halves, slicing through at close range to all but end the hopes of his old teammates in the 40-6 triumph - their first Battle of Brisbane victory.
Herbie Farnworth celebrates scoring for the Dolphins against the Brisbane Broncos.Credit: NRL Photos
But he had left his mark on this contest before then, and well before his second try put the icing on the cake and moved his side into the top eight.
His guile moving across the field set up Jamayne Isaako for the first try of the night was class, while his run through the middle of the field to put Jake Averillo over was decisive brilliance.
The 24-year-old went on to finish with two tries, 289 running metres, three linebreaks, two linebreak assists and two try assists, and his involvement will need to remain equally active if his side are to issue some finals’ shockwaves.
“He just went to that next level, and that’s what we bought him for,” Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett said.
“That’s what he brings and the Broncos team tonight probably looked a hell of a lot different than what they did.”
Execution kills the Broncos’ season
They had everything to play for. They had publicly declared they would play finals football this year.
This was not the sort of performance that displayed that belief, and certainly not one of a finals team.
The Broncos had their chances in the first half to hit the front, but their lack of execution from close range absolutely killed them.
Payne Haas cuts a dejected figure as the Brisbane Broncos suffer an embarrassing defeat to the Dolphins.Credit: NRL Photos
Against a 12-man Dolphins deep in their territory after Felise Kaufusi was sent to the sin bin for high contact, Brisbane immediately coughed up possession through Brendan Piakura.
Coach Kevin Walters’ men then conceded a cheap penalty, and the Dolphins charged downfield to score.
The Broncos hit back through Pat Carrigan, but they wasted another opportunity after Jordan Riki was unable to latch onto a regulation Billy Walters pass, which Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow scooped up to streak the length of the field and score.
From there, their defence was cut to shreds and they lacked any go-forward in the second half. Brisbane were outrun by more than 600 metres, and made just two linebreaks to the Dolphins’ nine.
“The longer the game went the worse we got, the confidence left, we were trying to push passes, look for the miracle,” Walters said.
“We have to learn as a club that this is a big club, and you have to play every week and come ready to play every week. There’s pressure every week playing at the Broncos, that’s what people and players have got to understand.”
Fuller-Hammer switch a recipe for finals mayhem
Bennett stressed before kick-off he was taking a risk with some of the team changes he made - shifting halfback Isaiya Katoa to the bench, moving Jake Averillo to five-eighth, Tabuai-Fidow to centre and Trai Fuller to fullback.
It proved a masterstroke, and could give his side the attacking weapons to cause a finals’ upset.
While they are not guaranteed eighth-spot yet, the injection of Fuller could be a key change that gives the Dolphins the prowess needed to cause headaches against the top teams.
Trai Fuller returned for the Dolphins against the Brisbane Broncos.Credit: NRL Photos
The late-blooming fullback has been all class whenever he has pulled on the red jumper, but Tabuai-Fidow’s preference to play in the No.1 jersey has kept him among the reserves.
But ‘The Hammer’ has shown just how quality he is in the centres for the Queensland Maroons, and he demonstrated that again on Saturday night - drifting across field to hit a hole from close range and offload for Averillo to score.
Tabuai-Fidow made his chances count - finishing with two tries, two linebreak assists, a try assist and 90 metres.
Fuller, meanwhile, was a constant probing threat through the middle, ending the night with 196 metres and 12 tackles busts, while Averillo’s shift to five-eighth led to two tries, a pair of try assists and three linebreak assists.
While it remains to be seen whether these changes will remain once Kodi Nikorima returns from concussion, if all their weapons click, this Dolphins side can produce the spark to surprise the competition.
“There was risk there, but it was worthwhile taking, we’d beaten ourselves up until then and on many occasions had the game won and lost it,” Bennett said.
“I thought maybe a change of positions might help us. We’ll have some secret meetings [about who plays where], and we won’t invite you [the media] to them - you’ll have to work it out.”
Where is the finals race now placed?
For the Dolphins, it is a simple equation: defeat the Newcastle Knights next week, and they will play finals football.
And they have troops returning at the perfect time.
Skipper Jesse Bromwich and five-eighth Nikorima will return from concussion lay-offs, while hooker Jeremy Marshall-King made his comeback from a foot injury off the bench against the Broncos.
Kotoni Staggs leaves the field for the Brisbane Broncos against the Dolphins.Credit: NRL Photos
“We go to Newcastle, we’re the last game on the season next Sunday, so we’ll know where we stand before the game,” Bennett said.
For the Broncos, they will need to miraculously pull off an emphatic upset of the Melbourne Storm, while having the Dolphins lose convincingly and the Dragons to also go down, and hope both the Knights and Raiders lose on Sunday.
Even then, it is beyond unlikely, given the hefty hit to their differential the Dolphins inflicted, and they may well have to do so without Kotoni Staggs, who left the field with a groin injury in the first half.