The Dolphins have escaped from jail, coming from 14 points down to notch up their first win of the season against the gritty Titans at Suncorp Stadium.
MATCH CENTRE: Dolphins vs Titans teams, scores, updates
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Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow was the difference in the end. The star fullback scored the game winner with seven minutes on the clock, outleaping opposite number Keano Kini to pluck a Isaiya Katoa bomb out of the air and scoring under the posts.
“He had a big game and his class was the difference in the end,” Fox League’s Nathan Hindmarsh said post-game.
While the result didn’t go their way, Gold Coast coach Josh Hannay would’ve been extremely pleased with his side’s turnaround and their stout defensive resolve the majority of the contest.
Thrashed 50-10 by Cronulla last weekend where they conceded 34 in the first half, the Titans kept the Dolphins to 0 until the 53rd minute.
It was at that moment the Dolphins took over.
The home side scored off a Titans drop out when a ball fortuitously landed in Kulikefu Finefeuaki’s hands, with the back rower running 15 metres to score.
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 08: Kulikefu Finefeuiaki of the Dolphins is congratulated by team mate Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow of the Dolphins after scoring a try during the round one NRL match between Dolphins and South Sydney Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium, on March 08, 2026, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
The Dolphins seemingly had all the ball for the next 15 minutes but were unable to breakthrough until Jake Averillo scored in the corner to trim the margin to two.
Five minutes later, Tabuai-Fidow stepped up to the plate at a key stage, giving the Dolphins a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
In some bad news for the Dolphins, luckless prop Tom Flegler is under another injury cloud after leaving the game in the first half and failing to return.
Flegler picked up a rib injury and was seen on the Dolphins bench in the second half.
Gilbert was only in his second regular season game back after he was sidelined for almost two years with a serious shoulder injury.
“That’s a shame if his second game back from injury after a long layoff ends in injury,” Dan Ginnane said in commentary.
Dolphins and Titans High Flyer Player Rankings presented by Red Bull.Source: FOX SPORTS
BIG HITS – by Travis Meyn
Titanic Rising
Hannay promised we’d see a different Titans this year and he couldn’t have had a worse start to life as head coach when Gold Coast slumped to a 40-point defeat to Cronulla last week.
All the pre-season optimism generated by the Titans was seemingly gone after 40 minutes at Shark Park. The critics were quick to pile on.
The Titans simply didn’t turn up and were stunned by the intensity of a quality team in the Sharks.
Hannay needed to conjure a response and it was a different story in round 2. The Titans turned up ready for a scrap.
They held the Dolphins scoreless in the first half, taking an 8-0 lead into the break after Jojo Fifita capitalised on a Redcliffe mistake in the 34th minute.
It was far from a clinical performance from the Titans but the improved effort has bought Hannay some breathing space.
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 15: Cooper Bai of the Titans celebrates with team mates after scoring a try during the round two NRL match between Dolphins and Gold Coast Titans at Suncorp Stadium, on March 15, 2026, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Dolphins clipped
The Dolphins were the NRL’s entertainers of 2025 – and for 40 minutes it looked like they’d forgotten how to play.
The free flowing football that made the Dolphins an NRL sensation last year has somehow disappeared.
They managed to score 30 points against the Rabbitohs last week but it was far from a slick performance.
The effort against the Titans was downright hard to watch at times. At halftime the Dolphins’ completion rate was a shocking 57 per cent.
The Dolphins lacked fluency without hooker Jeremy Marshall-King (knee) and his replacement Kurt Donoghoe (calf).
Max Plath did his best at dummy-half in his return from a knee reconstruction but is more comfortable at lock. Bench hooker Brad Schneider has struggled playing nine.
Woolf needs to find a way to get the Dolphins humming again and he needs to do it quickly.
The second half was improved but there’s work to do.
Phins Swimming Slowly
The Dolphins opened last season with four straight losses, a start that ultimately proved too much to overcome in their quest to play finals for the first time.
They ended the regular season as the NRL’s most potent attacking team – scoring a competition high 721 points – but their leaky defence proved costly.
Coach Kristian Woolf spent the pre-season addressing Redcliffe’s work off the ball and last week’s season-opening 40-30 loss to South Sydney was another poor start.
This wasn’t much better for much of the night.
The Dolphins will get another solid test when they travel to Shark Park on Saturday to face a Cronulla team hurting after a heavy loss to Penrith.
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