Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow beat Reece Walsh in a box-office aerial contest to inspire his Dolphins team to a remarkable comeback win on Saturday night, as the Redcliffe outfit locked in their inaugural finals berth.

Led by Ezra Mam, who snared a first-half hat-trick, the Broncos shot out to a 24-0 lead in the first 22 minutes.

Hamiso Tabuai-FIdow celebrates his crucial late try. Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images.

But the Dolphins, whose first-half defence was labelled “paper-thin” by Michael Ennis on Fox League, only trailed 30-24 at half-time.

And after Connelly Lemuelu crossed in the 51st minute and Jamayne Isaako converted, the scores were locked up at 30 apiece.

Walsh knocked over a penalty goal on the hour mark to regain the lead for the Broncos, but Isaiya Katoa and Tabuai-Fidow linked up in the 68th minute to put the Dolphins in the lead for the first time in the game.

Katoa put up a high ball on the right edge deep in Broncos territory and Tabuai-Fidow weaved his magic, leaping above Walsh and plucking the ball from the Brisbane sky.

The Dolphins magician came down with the ball five metres short of the try line, then lurched forward and, with Broncos defenders trying desperately to stop him, reached out and slammed the ball down.

When Selwyn Cobbo bagged his own try in the 72nd minute, the Dolphins led by more than a converted try.

The Broncos’ younger brothers then held on over a frantic final eight minutes to win 40-32.

“It’s something I’ve been working on,” Tabuai-Fidow said of the aerial ball he won against Walsh.

“I can get over a couple of fullbacks.

“There, I looked at ‘Izzy’ and just said to isolate me, and I got the ball in the air and got over the try line. It was pretty cool.”

The Broncos were on the wrong end of controversy.

With just over 20 minutes remaining, Billy Walters took a dart from dummy-half and almost scored.

He was tackled by Kurt Donoghoe, who had come from an off-side position to tackle him.

Despite that, the Broncos were not awarded a penalty try and Donoghoe was not sin-binned.

The Broncos were only awarded a penalty, and that was because Herbie Farnworth had taken out Mam. Donoghoe went unpunished.

If Brisbane had been awarded a penalty try, they could have led 38-30 with about 20 minutes to play.

Instead, they only led 32-30.

The Broncos must stomach the bitter reality that they will finish round 23 in second-last on the ladder, ahead of only the Dragons.

Wests Tigers have leapfrogged the Broncos, courtesy of the two points they received for a bye.

The Dolphins, on the other hand, are finals-bound for the first time in only their fourth season in the NRL.

“I’m frustrated, and so are they [the players],” said Broncos coach Michael Maguire.

“You can’t leak or let in that many tries to put yourselves into a position to be able to really contend.”

Maguire, a two-time NRL premiership-winning coach, said his side’s place on the ladder was hard to take.

“It hurts, obviously,” he said.

“And is it something that I thought we’d be going through? No.”