Wingers run riot as Dolphins continue perfect start
Five tries between wingers Tesi Niu and Jamayne Isaako lifted the Dolphins to a 36-20 victory over the Knights on Friday evening, which saw them become just the third expansion team to win their opening three games.
Niu scored twice in the first half before his third with 12 minutes to go looked to have put the result beyond doubt, only for Felise Kaufusi to then be sent to the sin bin for a late tackle which saw him put on report for the second time in the game at McDonald Jones Stadium.
It set up a nervous finish, before Isaako's double inside the last five minutes saw Wayne Bennett's side get past a stubborn Knights side who had three players appearing at NRL level for the first time, with a bench that had just 18 total games of first-grade experience.
Tabuai-Fidow finishes the long range raid
The Dolphins controlled much of the first 40 minutes to lead 16-12 at the break, but couldn't shake the plucky Knights who were led by an inspired showing from fullback Lachlan Miller, who at one stage looked set to lift his team to victory after scoring five minutes either side of the break.
After the Dolphins fought back to lead 26-18 with 11 minutes to play, following the Knights hitting the front early in the second half, Newcastle centre Bradman Best blew a golden chance to put his side back into the game when he dropped a potential try over the line, and minutes later Isaako's quick double ended any debate around the result.
Niu gets the Dolphins on the board
Nikorima takes his chance
It wasn't enough to lift them to victory in the end, but this clever link up try between the two Lachlans, Fitzgibbon and Miller, was nice to watch. It was part of a huge game for fullback Miller, who showed his class and stepped up in the playmaking ranks in the absence of Kalyn Ponga.
Miller starts and finishes it
"We came up against a team that doesn't beat themselves and clearly they lived up to that with their completion rate. We didn't make it easy on ourselves to win, the effort was there. Some errors at the back end there really let the game get away from us." – Knights coach Adam O'Brien.
"The good, the bad and the ugly. The good was the 30 something points, the bad was the 18 we gave up, and a lot of rubbish in between it. It [the scoreboard] certainly did [flatter us]. But it's an 80-minute game, we stayed there for the 80 minutes and scored two tries when we had 12 men." – Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett.
NRL Press Conference: Knights v Dolphins - Round 3, 2023
A huge Friday night showdown with the Broncos awaits the Dolphins up next. Coach Wayne Bennett will hope to have veteran forward Jarrod Wallace available again, while wing Edrick Lee (ankle) and big man Herman Ese'ese (pectoral) chances of being fit too. The Knights meanwhile will welcome the nine-day turnaround before hosting the Raiders, with hopes they'll have access to a number of injured stars again.