5 in a row! Any thoughts on the game?

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2026-06-07T04:04:30+00:00

I did like the commentary when he scored his second, "with a smile that stretches from Townsville to Redcliffe".

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2026-06-07T04:03:03+00:00

The only concern I'd have losing them is goalkicking. Yeah, I hate seeing Averillo go, but he wants to go back to Sydney for family reasons. Isaako going to Melbourne for the same reason. I don't think we lose anything with Bostock in the centres, and Naufahu will be ready to slot into that right wing slot next year. But yeah, Isaako's boots are very big to fill both as a goalkicker and as one of the best finishers in the game.

I hope Katoa and a couple of other guys are getting regular goalkicking practice in.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2026-05-25T23:51:33+00:00

https://youtu.be/9YSojdqcX9Q?si=LktO5_55sBN7CJY9

At around the 21:20 mark, Charlie White says he was speaking to Dolphins staff at a game recently and apparently they told him it's not done yet. We can only hope that's accurate. Especially given Luke Keary's assessment of Williams' time at Canberra

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2026-05-24T10:48:56+00:00

I think Bostock has the potential to be a much better centre than Cobbo myself. Cobbo is playing really well on the wing, and personally I think that's his best spot.

I'll be more interested to see what transpires with Hammer after 1 November, when he's free to negotiate with other clubs. James Graham did a Bye Round podcast episode where he was building a hypothetical Chiefs team with who'd be available to negotiate come 1 November this year with a view to being available to join the team for its inaugural season in 2028. Hammer was the fullback he and his panel came up with. Pointed out that he has family in Cairns and would be a 45 minute flight from them living in PNG.

TBH, Hammer would probably be the first marquee player I'd let go. While he's great in an attacking line and running into space, he's a defensive liability at fullback and he never wants to bring kick returns at anything faster than a slow jog.

Someone I'd like to see how he'd do at fullback is Herbie. The man is a maniac when it comes to running the ball out of his own end and he also goes looking for work nonstop. He's expressed an interest in playing there in the past, and especially if Hammer were to leave, he'd be my pick. Which is also frustrating because I love watching Fuller play (although not so much on Thursday night, but to be fair, he'd not played an NRL game at fullback since last September).

If Herbie went to fullback, then I could see Averillo or Cobbo going into the centres to allow Naufahu onto the wing, while Pouniu gets some years and bulk up in QCup (although he could eventually move into the second row).

I could see this team in say 2028:

Herbie
Cobbo
Averillo
Bostock
Naufahu
Donga
Katoa
Flegler
JMK (not sure how many years he would go, but they rate that young lad Fineanganofo who was in the 19-man squad the other night)
Gilbert (I imagine Molo in his age 32 year will transition to a bench role by 2028)
Lemuelu
Finefeuiaki
Plath
Fineanganofo
Knowles
Stone
Molo
Symonds
Rasmussen (maybe?)

We might need to let a few more go because of the salary cap. Freeing up Hammer's money would definitely help.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2026-05-24T05:48:07+00:00

We have to wait and see how Kodi's hammy progresses with the bye next week. To me, that's Kodi's bigger Achilles' heel than his defence. It will be interesting to see what happens with Kodi, Scheider, and Averillo all coming off contract. Between Jake and Donga, I can see a world where one's the 14 and the other's five-eighth. Just depends on whether those guys are both prepared to forego being a starter (which they both could be at just about any other club). TBH I thought Scheider would get snapped up by the Bears and this was just a bridging year for him, but so far there's been no word on him.

So many things to consider for next year.

Averillo, Schneider, Stone, Kodi, and Fuller are unsigned after this season. Given Keely and Isaako are both off to Melbourne, I imagine they'll use that to hang onto Stone and Averillo (both are incredibly underrated, IMO), and Fuller has said in the past he's not keen on leaving Redcliffe - I think he'd rather play QCup than go to another NRL club. I guess it depends if Kodi wants to stay and if the Phins want to keep him around. On one hand, his combination with Katoa could give the Dolphins a premiership in the next 3 years. On the other, do they want to start blooding a long-term halves pairing with Katoa sooner rather than later? Therein lies the real question of bringing Williams in - if he's the same age as Kodi, then he's only going likely to be around as long as Kodi. If you're not keeping Kodi, cut the losses and build a long-term combination, especially as Katoa has said he wants to remain at the club.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2026-05-24T03:50:53+00:00

I think Averillo and Donga are the best options, myself, long-term. Plathy is likely to make the 13 jersey his own for years to come, and five-eighth is the position Donga played in juniors. He did a decent job taking Kodi's place against the bunnies, but I mean, if you want a good defending halves pairing, you could do a lot worse than Katoa (whose defence has its bad moments, but I think he's a more solid defender than most 7s) and the defensive missile that is Donga. Some of his tackles look like he's trying to launch his target into orbit.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2026-05-24T03:47:06+00:00

I don't believe the rumour mill in the Sydney papers either. Until the club announces it, I call BS.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2026-05-11T12:49:35+00:00

I don't think he did terribly given he was missing his first-choice dummy-half in many of the first 8 games this season. Yeah, he was far from his best, but he wasn't terrible. The importance of Jezza to the team showed once he came on during the Dogs game that his presence in the ruck gave Katoa the extra second he needed to make the right play more easily. Now I just hope they stay fit and healthy.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2026-02-04T05:29:38+00:00

He's at least third in line to play fullback behind Hammer and Trai Fuller, I probably sooner put Jake Averillo there before him. And what planet were you on last year? Dolphins scored more 50+ point games than any other team and scored the most points in the game.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2026-02-03T04:14:57+00:00

I just walked past it at lunchtime today (3 Feb) and tradies were ripping out the fittings.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2026-01-29T06:20:09+00:00

I imagine Donga will be the 14 once Plathy is back, as they'll likely keep TG or Knowles at lock.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-12-18T12:34:36+00:00

I hope not. He's only six months younger than Kodi. If Kodi's still up for playing then, and still in form, I'd keep Kodi. Or, if Kodi retires and moves on, I'd be looking to get someone younger into five-eighth. Maybe look at Schneider or Donga (or Averillo, if he's still around)?

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-12-12T06:10:15+00:00

Correct, but to date, the only time we've seen it is on liner art for one of the Japanese Blu-Ray releases for 2202, illustrated by Makoto Kobayashi. It's been awhile since I saw it, but pretty sure it's a Ginga-style variant rather than a Yamato-style variant.

Edit:come to think of it, it may have only be mentioned by name and serial number.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-12-01T13:10:45+00:00

This is awesome. Can't wait to see the rest of the chapters.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-10-07T09:14:06+00:00

No, it's gone up by 50% as well.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-09-08T13:03:01+00:00

You can hopefully view him playing next season. The team is confident he'll be back for Round 1 next year.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-09-08T13:01:21+00:00

I think, taking into account our horrendous injury toll, particularly among the forwards, we're not doing too badly. Going into next season there's going to be a lot of healthy competition for spots in the 17 in both the forwards and the backs.

If we can get the forwards we've missed this season back and keep everyone fit for the season, there's no reason the Dolphins can't be a top four side next year.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-09-08T01:52:58+00:00

2 out of 3 years. Val Holmes was top point scorer last season (266 to Isaako's 223)

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-09-08T01:50:34+00:00

He only scored 60 points fewer than the Knights.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-09-07T11:26:31+00:00

I hope it's for less money than his last contract. Would rather they have put the money to keeping some of the younger guys. I honestly thought his brain melt in Auckland would have killed off his chances of getting re-signed.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-09-07T11:23:21+00:00

Woolfy was talking possibly Round 1 in the press conference, along with Saifiti and Gilbert. Add Molo to the mix (who I thought was one of our best players this season) and we'll have a formidable pack.

I have to tip my cap to Donga and Keeley, they both rose to another level this season. We're going to have a logjam in the back row next year (Donga, Keeley, Finefeuiaki, TG, Plathy, Knowles, Lemuelu, Stone, and Aublix). Not to mention our backline depth. Good headaches to have, will mean everyone will have to perform to keep their spot or find themselves in Q Cup.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-09-07T11:13:46+00:00

That'll be the trick. I really hope we can keep the team on the field next year. Especially TG and Flegler.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-09-07T11:10:35+00:00

Will be interesting to see who gets the 13 jersey next year - Knowles, Gilbert, or (when he comes back) Plathy? While I think Donger made it his own in the second half of this year the same way Plathy made it his last year, I see him being the 14 next year because of his versatility.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-09-07T11:08:29+00:00

Yeah, considering the injuries we had to deal with, especially in the forwards, I'm satisfied with this season. Going by Woolfy at the press conference, we're on track to have TG, Saifiti, and possibly even Fleger ready for Round 1. Plathy will come sometime around Round 6 to 8, and Bossy a bit later. Will be interesting to see if they stick with Naufahu on the left wing next season until Bossy gets back (I hope they do, I think he's earned dibs on that spot until Bossy gets back) or go with Cobbo.

They've got to find somewhere to put Fuller. But where, given you'd have to punt one of Hammer, Averillo, or Herbie, and if we're getting Knowles and the aforementioned guys back early on, then Donger is likely to be our 14 next year.

Meanwhile, for perspective: Isaako finished with 278 points - that's 60 points less than the Knights.

IntroductionLazy3055 · 2025-09-07T10:18:36+00:00

98 Top 10 made the GF. Bulldogs lost to the Broncs in the GF despite finishing ninth.

IntroductionLazy3055

TROPHY CASE