Downed by the Dolphins
WAYNE Bennett’s counterpunching Dolphins marched into North Queensland and quelled a Cowboys fightback to claim a 32-22 win and their first victory over Queensland opposition.
Rugby league’s newest kids on the block almost delivered a first half knockout by punishing six Cowboy errors for five tries. North Queensland refused to go down and with a three-try run of their own pushed the fixture to a knife’s edge.
Cairns product Hamiso Tabuai-fidow, the young gun granted a release after North Queensland chose rival Scott Drinkwater for a multimilliondollar contract extension, delivered the final strike to sink his former club in a two-try performance.
The Dolphins were down to a second-string halves pairing of 18-year-old Isaiah Katoa and journeyman Kodi Nikorima, without international forwards Felise Kaufusi and Jesse Bromwich but showed the fight that has characterised the club’s rise to the NRL.
Winger Jamayne Isaako, cast out from both Brisbane and Gold Coast, crossed three times in the opening half.
The Dolphins winger and fullback have combined for 16 of the club’s first 25 tries in the top grade. Both teams spent 10 minutes with men in the bin in a frenetic opening half that saw seven tries scored.
Cowboys backrower Coen Hess was sent for a late shot on rookie No. 7 Isaiah Katoa in the 27th and had only just returned to the field when Dolphins five-eighth Kodi Nikorima was sent for his own spell and placed on report for dumping Riley Price on his head.
Prop Jarrod Wallace showed Category I concussion symptoms and did not return for the second half.
WEST SHOW
OLD DOWN
This town wasn’t big enough for the both of them.
In a scene out of an old Western, former Cowboys Hamiso Tabuai-fidow rolled back into Townsville with a new posse of teammates and wasted no time showing the North Queensland faithful just what they missed.
The ‘Hammer’ TabuaiFidow delivered the final pass for Isaako’s first before joining the flying winger on the scoreboard with a remarkable solo effort, busting out of four tackles to dot down between the sticks in the 23rd minute.
His final try, with teammates and opponents alike gasping for breaths, was pure class.
It was far from the only highlight for former Cowboys on the night.
Tom Gilbert split former teammates Jamayne TaunoaBrown and Riley Price for his own tough try between the posts while backrower Connelly Lemuelu’s physicality was key in repelling raids down the North Queensland left.
THE JA-MAYNE MAN
Isaako brought the Dolphins within 40 minutes of claiming the club’s first win over Queensland opposition with a first-half hat-trick.
The former Bronco and Titan has now scored an NRLhigh eight tries in six matches.
Isaako found himself in open space just eight minutes into the contest for the Dolphins first before doubling down in the 16th minute, high-pointing a precision strike from 18-yearold halfback Isaiah Katoa and planting with millimetres of space to spare.
With a man advantage through Hess’ sin-binning, the Dolphins punished the Cowboys for Isaako’s third for the half with simple hands.
D R I N K W A T E R DANGEROUS
The Cowboys fullback returned from his three-week suspension and showed why Cowboys officials had signed the Terrigal product to a multimillion dollar four-year extension.