‘We’ve missed him’: Crucial injury return looms (if Dolphins can stay alive)

This was the training session designed to lift the Dolphins out of a three-game slump, and keep their fading premiership dream alive.

A trio of defeats has taken the NRL’s newest outfit from the cusp of a maiden finals breakthrough to the brink of heartbreak, needing to win both their remaining clashes while hoping the Roosters slip.

So often on the back fields of Kayo Stadium there is a sense of both fun and intensity.

Despite their desperate predicament, and a spray from coach Kristian Woolf Dolphins hooker Jeremy Marshall-King said they “deserved” after last week’s capitulation against Manly, Tuesday was no different.

Opposed drills were the major theme as the Dolphins sought to get their once palpable attack firing again.

A Connelly Lemuelu tunnel ball for Jamayne Isaako to score was met with raucous cheers, before the squad quickly shifted their focus back to the task at hand – preparing for the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday.

There was no panic. Why? Because after starting the 2025 campaign with four losses before rebounding back to finals contention, Marshall-King said they had overcome this hurdle before.

“We were 0-4 at the start, and I don’t think a lot of people expected us to come this far,” Marshall-King, who celebrates his 150th NRL game this weekend, said.

“There’s not really too much pressure on us. We just have to go out there this week and take each week as it comes.

“We’ve got to win two games, but we need to focus on what needs to be done this week against the Titans. Our DNA is Dolphins footy, so we have to get back to being the team we know we can be – being simple in what we do and being physical.”

While the Dolphins’ injury woes have been well documented this year – a casualty ward which has claimed Kulikefu Finefeuiaki again, who failed to train with an ankle concern – the sight of marquee man Herbie Farnworth running was a promising one.

There were fears the strike centre would not take the field again this year after suffering a hamstring injury in round 22 against the Warriors. But he is now firming for a round 27 comeback where the Dolphins may have to beat the ladder-leading Canberra Raiders to clinch a maiden finals berth.

The Englishman had established himself as arguably the best centre in the NRL this year, managing 12 tries, nine try assists, 17 linebreaks and 117 tackle busts in 19 games.

“It’d be nice to have him back, we’ve missed him there, but the boys who are in the team we trust. It doesn’t matter who we put in there, we know they’re going to do a job for us,” Marshall-King said.

“We’ve just got to take each week as it comes and get the job done this week.”

The Dolphins will be boosted by the return of five-eighth Kodi Nikorima, who missed the loss to the Sea Eagles through illness, in a key injection against a Gold Coast outfit desperate to avenge their coach.

The Titans confirmed this week Des Hasler would leave at season’s end, replaced by Josh Hannay, with the club’s chief executive Steve Mitchell shedding light on the sadness within the playing group.

While Hasler’s exit from Manly before his Gold Coast tenure was marred by courtroom drama over his sacking, Mitchell insisted he would leave Parkwood on good terms following what could be his final two games as an NRL coach.

He said while Hasler had not shared what his future held, he believed he still had “plenty of offer”.

“Des is good, he’s up and about and getting about the game this weekend. He’s in business as usual, and he’s excited about coaching out the last two rounds,” Mitchell said.

“We’re adamant he wants to leave on really good terms. He’s focused on the game this weekend, he literally went from player preview into the next piece – on the field.

“We’ve got a great group of players, they’re really good human beings. They’re sad Des is leaving, but I think they’re very positive around Josh’s arrival.”

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