RUGBY LEAGUE Dolphins dangerous even with no Benji
BENJI Marshall won’t grace Jack Manski Oval this weekend but the Townsville Blackhawks are on red alert for a Redcliffe Dolphins still laden with talent.
Reports broke yesterday that Marshall will retain his spot in the Brisbane Broncos team for tonight’s game against the Sydney Roosters, ruling him out of tomorrow afternoon’s Queensland Cup showdown.
Blackhawks coach Kristian Woolf is still bracing for the unexpected, however, and believes the Dolphins will pack arguably the Q Cup’s best attacking punch without Marshall.
“You just have to have a look at their Broncos allocations,” Woolf said.
“Obviously there’s Moses Pangai and other blokes like Tom Opacic and Jonus Pearson, who are all quality players.
“Then there’s their own players like Matthew Lodge and Nick Slyney who are very good players as well, so there’s plenty of strikepower there.
“They’re sitting third on the table and they’re a top team for a reason.”
The Blackhawks could be forced into a late reshuffle as captain Daniel Beasley and Q Cup leading tryscorer Jonathon Reuben fight for fitness.
The pair will be given until today to prove their fitness after missing last weekend’s 42- 4 loss to the PNG Hunters though injury, with Beasley suffering a groin injury and Reuben sore ribs.
Former Cowboys under20s forward Kieran Quabba could again start at lock if Beasley falls short, while Ty Carruci will likely be on standby for Reuben.
“I’m not too sure what we’ll do there at this stage,” Woolf said.
“I’d say they’re likely, but it’s something I’ll have a look at in the morning.”
The Blackhawks are battling through a mid- season form slump, with last weekend’s club record defeat in Port Moresby coming after a disappointing 26- all draw with the CQ Capras and 22- 6 loss to Souths Logan.
On paper the Blackhawks possess arguably the Q Cup’s strongest team, and Cowboys allocated prop Corey Jensen again showed why he is a star on the rise with a 195m effort against PNG.
But second- rower Blake Leary said the Blackhawks were in serious danger of quietly shuffling out of finals contention should the form slump continue.
“We’ve got to start being a tight- knit group again and showing it on the field,” he said.
“We’re all good off the field, I just don’t think we’re putting good enough performances in on the field.
“Townsville is a proud rugby league community and to get beaten like that in PNG, I don’t think anything like that had happened before and the only way we can rectify that is coming out on Sunday with a big game.
“The confidence is still there among the playing group but we’re just doing uncharacteristic errors, and it’s costing us way too much.
“We have a lot of pride in the jersey but we’ve done enough talking, and now we have to walk the walk.”
BLACKHAWKS DOLPHINS