Dolphins Strengthen Top-Four Grip With 26-12 Win Over Roosters

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One game to go, a top-four finish within touching distance, and the Dolphins are heading towards their first finals series with serious momentum. Kristian Woolf’s side beat the third-placed Sydney Roosters 26-12 at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, 29 August, recovering from an early deficit before taking the game apart with four tries in the final 20 minutes of the first half.

The Dolphins trailed 6-0 after Robert Toia crossed inside six minutes, but there was no repeat of the damaging slow starts that had forced them into comeback mode against Brisbane and Parramatta. Herbie Farnworth answered in the 21st minute before Selwyn Cobbo struck twice in five minutes, with Max Plath adding another just before halftime to send the Dolphins into the sheds 20-6 ahead.

Dolphins Take Control Before the Break

Sydney had the better of the opening exchanges, but the game shifted once Farnworth put the Dolphins on the board and Jamayne Isaako converted to make it 6-6.

Cobbo then took over, crossing in the 30th minute and again four minutes later as the Roosters began to come apart under pressure. Plath added another in the 39th minute, with Isaako’s conversion completing a 20-point Dolphins response after Sydney had opened the scoring.

The pressure carried into the second half, with Jeremy Marshall-King breaking through in the 48th minute before Isaako converted to stretch the lead to 26-6. It proved to be the Dolphins’ final score, but by then the Roosters needed four tries to get back in front.

Dolphins Dig In With Men in the Bin

The complexion changed in the final quarter as the Dolphins’ discipline gave Sydney a route back into the contest. Thomas Flegler was sent to the sin bin for a professional foul in the 61st minute before Morgan Knowles followed him seven minutes later after a hip-drop penalty, with Knowles also placed on report.

The Roosters capitalised through Salesi Foketi, whose converted try reduced the margin to 26-12, but that was as close as they came. Even with the Dolphins spending much of the closing stages short-handed, Sydney could not find another try and Woolf’s side closed out its fourth win from four games in Sydney this season.

Cobbo’s double did much of the damage during the decisive first-half burst, while Farnworth, Plath and Marshall-King ensured the points came from across the side. The Dolphins will have some discipline to address after the two sin bins, with Flegler and Kurt Donoghoe also placed on report during the match, but they had already done enough with the ball to withstand the late pressure.

The Dolphins came to Sydney with their top-four position under pressure and left with exactly the result they needed. Their maiden finals appearance is already secured; with one regular-season game remaining, the 26-12 win has strengthened their grip on a top-four finish and the double chance that comes with it.