Kayo Stadium played host to yet another Dolphins NRLQ victory on Sunday, with the home side defeating the Titans 58-22, despite multiple personnel changes for the side, who remain undefeated this season.
In a late change prior to kickoff, hooker Braelan Marsh was ruled out of the match, with interchange hooker Mitchell Rogers starting in his absence. This move also saw Lachlan Buchbach come onto the interchange.
Receiving the ball to open the match, the Dolphins forward pack quickly set the tone, with a barnstorming first set that saw them go the length of the field. On the fifth tackle, a stab kick from Jahrel Iselin-Jansen found Brian Pouniu, who opened the scoring in the first minute of the match.
Iselin-Jansen would then extend the Dolphins' lead four minutes later, after another strong attacking set and Titans goaline dropout, for the Dolphins to lead 12 to 0.
Winger Mereki Warradoo and fullback Seth Carpenter added to score with the Dolphins' third and fourth tries on back-to-back sets, which saw the Dolphins take a four-converted-try lead before the Titans even possessed the ball.
A dangerous contact penalty against Dolphins lock Shaun Elara and a set restart welcomed the Titans into an attacking field position, before Harrison Hill burrowed his way to the line from dummy half to score his side's first points of the match.
The Dolphins would counter this thanks to a one-on-one strip by centre Tyreece Tait, who gave the Dolphins possession back after the kickoff for Mereki Warradoo to score a first-half double, and the Dolphins to lead 28 to 6 with only 20 minutes played in the match.
Their lead would grow again nine minutes later as hulking forward Nixon Pasese flashed his athleticism, diving on a Lachlan Buchbach grubber kick in the Titans' in-goal.
The scoreline would change once again before the half-time whistle, with Titans fullback Meihana Pauling scoring late, for the half to finish with the Dolphins leading 34 to 10.
Dolphins bench utility Lachlan Buchbach, who was injured in an awkward tackle in the closing minutes of the first half, would not return to the field for the remainder of the match.
It was the Titans who would start the second on the front foot, with Meihana Pauling scoring his second try of the match only two minutes into the period. With a successful conversion, the Titans cut the Dolphins' lead to 18 points.
The Dolphins' dominant forward pack would then stamp their impact on the game, scoring three tries in nine minutes through Charlie Dickson, Shaun Elara, and Nixon Pasese. With Callum Bowles converting all three tries, the Dolphins pushed out to a commanding 52 to 18 point lead.
Both sides would then test each other's defence, trading blows and resulting in each side scoring another try. First with Dolphins hooker Mitchell Rogers in the 68th minute and then to Titans second rower Junior Filimaua ten minutes later.
Ultimately, the Dolphins' control of possession and ability to capitalise on the Titans' errors and periods of ill-discipline made any other result unlikely.
The match ended with the Dolphins securing a 58-22 win and remaining undefeated in the NRLQ series so far. With one match to play, the Dolphins will also finish in first place on the competition ladder, regardless of the result of next week's match.
Looking ahead to the final round of the competition, the Dolphins will face the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium in two weeks, ahead of the Dolphins' NRL Indigenous Round match-up against the Roosters on the 9th of August.
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