In the final match of the 2025 NRLQ series, the Dolphins emerged victorious against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium and unbeaten for the series, in a hard-fought match that finished 32 to 26 in favour of the home side.
The Dolphins made two changes to their named team before kickoff, welcoming back captain Lewis Symonds and bringing in Australian Schoolboys Halfback Toby Batten to make his debut.
Receiving the ball from the kickoff, the Dolphins gained an immediate advantage with two penalties in the first set. Fullback Seth Carpenter quickly opened the scoring with a crafty dummy and run to see his side up an unconverted try in the 4th minute.
The Broncos responded to this early strike by controlling possession and dominating field position off the back of a period of ill-discipline from the Dolphins. Broncos halfback Braithen Scott would then break through the Dolphins' goal line defence and score his side's first try, and see them take the lead at 6 to 4.
The Broncos would continue to dominate the flow of the game and the scoreboard, again securing points in the 17th and 22nd minutes, thanks to tries for back rower Jett Bryce and hooker Preston Cassidy.
With Brisbane leading 18 to 4, the Dolphins seized an opportunity to flip the game's momentum, bringing Mitch Rogers and Carter Ford into the match. The duo quickly moved the Dolphins down the field before Rogers, scooting from dummy half, got behind the Broncos' defence to find teammate Charlie Dickson running in support and score the Dolphins' second try.
However, the Dolphins' errors would again hand possession back to the Broncos late in the first half, with Siosaia Poese then scoring the Broncos' fourth try of the half, with his side heading into the break with a 22 to 10 point advantage.
The second half started with both teams trading sets without changing the score. However, in the 48th minute, the Dolphins would be the first to add points in the second period, thanks to Charlie Dickson fending off multiple tackle attempts to spread the ball wide and set up winger Mereki Warradoo for a try.
Warradoo would immediately impact the scoreboard again, thanks to a line break from Seth Carpenter down the right-hand sideline, setting up Warradoo for his second try on back-to-back sets. With a successful conversion, the Dolphins have narrowed the Broncos' lead to only 2 points.
The Dolphins received the kickoff to restart play, with debutant Toby Batten quick to capitalise on a well-timed offload from Elijah Rasmussen kick return, streaking through the Broncos' defence to break over the halfway line and set up centre Tyreece Tait to run the remaining forty metres and put the Dolphins in the lead for the first time since the 12th minute of the game.
This three-try blitz in only three sets put the Dolphins back into the contest and showed a marked improvement in their play compared to the first half.
The small lead the Dolphins had established was quickly overcome, thanks to a forward pass from dummy half giving the Broncos possession, setting up Saxon Innes to level the scores at 26 all with 16 minutes to play.
With the game on the line, both teams moved the ball around trying to find a way through the opposition's defensive line without success.
Ultimately, the winner came down to an effort play from the Dolphins forward Patrick Kailahi. A high fifth tackle kick from the Dolphins proved to be too challenging for Broncos winger Siosaia Poese to handle, knocking the ball on into the path of the rapidly approaching Kailahi, who, in a flash of athletic brilliance, recovered the ball with one hand above his head to run in and score next to the goal posts.
With the successful conversion thanks to Callum Bowles, the Dolphins held onto a 32 to 26 point victory, completing the six-game series in first place and undefeated.
Speaking with Dolphins Head Coach Scott Murray on-field after the match, he was proud of the team's achievements and the way they handled the adversity of the first half to come back and secure the victory.
"It was probably the biggest test of the year in the final game. The pleasing thing was that we won it in a different way than we have throughout the season. We just had to go about it in a different way and show some resilience, which we did, so I'm very pleased", said Murray
When asked about debutant halfback Toby Batten, Murray didn't mince his words.
"He was outstanding. He's really impressed me, given he has only trained with us this week. He was controlled and his kicking game was outstanding; he's a talented kid."
With the NRLQ series complete, many of the players from the Dolphins team will now look to gain more experience playing in games across the HostPlus Cup, while others will look forward to their first-ever NRL preseason later this year.
