Dolphins lock in finals berth with win over Cutters
The Redcliffe Dolphins are finals bound once again after a nail-biting victory over the Mackay Cutters to close out the 2025 home-and-away season.
After a strong start at Kayo Stadium, the Dolphins had to overcome a Cutters comeback early in the second stanza to record their 34-16 win and a ticket into this year’s finals series.
With the win all but guaranteeing a week one home final, it was a crucial two points for the Dolphins.
Captain and halfback Joshua James said after the match that while it wasn’t the ideal performance heading into finals – leaking 16 points after the halftime break – it was good to see the boys could turn the tide when they needed it the most.
“It was a bit up and down,” he said.
“We were really good for some periods and then other periods, we probably lacked the polish that we needed for this time of year, coming into finals.
“It was pretty tough for the first 20 minutes of that second half. We couldn’t get out of our own end, couldn’t complete.
“But when we sort of needed to flip a switch – when it got to 22-16 – we did, which was really impressive from the boys.
“We flipped the switch, forced an error, and then scored two tries off the back of that, which was really pleasing.”
The Dolphins got off to a strong start through Will Dobson, with the winger streaking away to score in the opening minute.
Fourteen minutes later, James added to the scoreboard with some fancy footwork before Dobson scored his second through an intercept in the 29th minute.
Celebrating his 50th game in the Hostplus Cup, five-eighth Dantoray Lui then combined with a runaway Nat McGavin to take the Dolphins into the break up 22-0.
It was from here where the momentum started to shift, as Mackay scored three unanswered tries to open the second half, coming within just six points of Redcliffe.
The was clear tension throughout the stands at Kayo Stadium, but it was James who managed to flip the switch for his team, regathering a short kick-off.
As the stand-in captain – with both Max Bailey (calf) and Kyle Schneider (illness) sidelined – James said it was a moment that had to happen.
“It was really important,” he said.
“It doesn’t really matter who it comes from. It’s just got to come from one person and then everyone can get on the back of it, and it just happened to be me tonight.
“Coming towards the finals, it’ll be anyone and we just need to get on the back of whoever that is and go from there.”
In the sets that followed, the Dolphins not only managed to shut the Cutters out but found two more tries to seal the deal, with fullback Zac Miles going over and Lui bagging his second of the night.
With the win, the Dolphins are expected to lock down sixth place on the Hostplus Cup ladder.
The last matches of Round 23 on Sunday will determine Redcliffe’s opponent for week one of the finals.
But James said regardless of who they play, the Dolphins have to go back to basics ahead of the knockout match.
“It’s just simplifying everything,” he said.
“We had a really good win last week (against Townsville), and then we probably got a little bit ahead of ourselves at training this week, probably trying to do a bit too much and be a bit too fancy.
“If we just go back to basics and dumb it down a little bit, it should be good come finals time.”