Dolphins advance to preliminary finals in gusty victory
The Redcliffe Dolphins have claimed a courageous victory in week one of the finals, buying themselves a ticket straight to a preliminary showdown.
In an absolute nail-biter at Kayo Stadium on Sunday, the Central Queensland Capras pushed the Dolphins to the limit, but the guts and determination of Redcliffe shone through in the second half to secure the home team a 20-16 win.
Capping off a significant day as captain Sheldon Pitama celebrated his 150th Cup game – all 150 in Redcliffe colours – the Dolphins will now enjoy a week off before taking on the winner of the Burleigh Bears v Townsville Blackhawks semi-final.
The Capras will head back to Rockhampton full of confidence, after they came out firing in the opening half on Sunday.
The away team put on three tries to one in the first 40, with Melino Fineanganofo bagging a double – his first coming just five minutes into the match.
Connor Guley scored the Capras’ other try while winger Steven Numambo crossed for Redcliffe’s only four-pointer.
The Dolphins were humbled by errors and, at times, poor decision-making, going into the halftime break down 16-4.
When they returned however, they looked sharper and slicker, and threw themselves back into the contest.
With Capras down to 12 men, the Dolphins’ first points of the second half came through a penalty try, with centre Jude Saldanha deemed to have been tackled mid-air in the 52nd minute.
The Dolphins then carried the momentum forward, with a determined Brent Woolf battling his way past three defenders to score underneath the posts in the 63rd minute, bringing the game to 16-all.
It was a tense final 15 minutes of the game, with both teams throwing everything at each other.
But, in a breathtaking finale, halfback Joshua James got a pass away to backrower Jaron Purcell, who put fullback Trai Fuller through a hole to claim the victory.
The crowd exploded as the Dolphins claimed the win with three minutes left on the board.
The Dolphins will now get to host their week three preliminary final at Kayo Stadium across the weekend of September 19-20, with final details to be determined.