Dolphins bring home the chocolates from Country Round
Redcliffe debutant Jack ‘Nugget’ Johnson handed his side a crucial victory in Country Round, with the Dolphins overcoming the Ipswich Jets in a must-win clash.
In a thriller for the crowd in Goondiwindi, the Dolphins claimed their ninth win of the season and took one step closer to a potential finals berth.
Johnson – in his first game in red and white at the Hostplus Cup level – proved to be the hero of the match, as the second rower broke a 16-all deadlock to put Redcliffe ahead by four points.
His try came in the 63rd minute, when fullback Trai Fuller put a kick up towards the left edge, with winger Zac Miles batting the ball back in to a waiting Johnson who crashed over the line.
Miles then earned his own four-pointer 13 minutes later to seal a 26-16 scoreline.
With a jam through the middle of the Hosplus Cup ladder, the victory was crucial as the competition prepares for a week off before the final month of action leading into finals.
Halfback Joshua James, who impressed with two 40/20s, said after the game the Dolphins aren’t exactly where they want to be but are building nicely towards September.
“It’s good to come out here for Country Round and get a win,” James told Qplus.tv after the Round 19 clash.
“We’ve got four more games and there’s definitely a few areas we need to clean up on. If we can get that, the sooner the better, and then head on the right path towards finals.
“You want to be peaking just as the finals are starting and not five to six weeks before finals.”
Co-captain Max Bailey opened the Dolphins’ scoring on Sunday afternoon in the 17th minute, to give his side a 6-4 edge over the Jets.
It was a tug-of-war from here, with five-eighth Dantoray Lui scoring in the 20th minute before Alofiana Khan-Pereira returned the favour for Ipswich just 10 minutes later.
The two teams went into the break locked up at 10-all.
Rashaun Denny crossed for the Jets quickly in the second stanza but then it was all Redcliffe from here, with centre LJ Nonu displaying some fancy footwork in a stunning solo effort to bring the game to 16-all by the 56th minute.
After the competition’s one-week break, the Dolphins will face some tough tasks as they prepare to take on the Burleigh Bears on August 9 followed by the Sunshine Coast Falcons on August 16.
They will then return home to Kayo Stadium to take on the Townsville Blackhawks on Sunday, August 24, before their final regular season game on Saturday, August 30, against the Mackay Cutters, also on home turf.