‘Did he fall asleep?’ NRL world in disbelief as Dolphins star refuses to score in ‘brain fart’

‘Did he fall asleep?’ NRL world in disbelief as Dolphins star refuses to score in ‘brain fart’

The Dolphins have produced a comeback for the ages to claim a 28-26 win over the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday.

The Titans dominated the early stages and led 26-0 at one point to go into halftime with all the momentum at Suncorp Stadium.

But Wayne Bennett clearly put a rocket up the Dolphins and they came out firing in the second half to claw their way back into the game.

Watch every game of every round of the 2023 NRL Telstra Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

Round 8

Tries to Mark Nicholls and Jarrod Wallace got the ball rolling, before an all-time brain fade by Robert Jennings threatened to derail the Dolphins’ comeback.

On the last tackle of the set, Kodi Nikorima put up a bomb that Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow somehow caught, before the ball found its way into the hands of Jennings, who seemed certain to score a try on the wing.

But just five metres out from the tryline, Jennings lost his balance and fell to the turf.

Even though no Titans players were near him, he remarkably didn’t get to his feet to crawl forward a couple of metres to score the try.

Instead Jennings waited to get tackled, which handed the ball back to the Titans.

Robert Jennings botched a certain try. Photo: Fox Sports.Source: FOX SPORTS
Robert Jennings was playing stuck in the mud. Photo: Fox Sports.Source: FOX SPORTS

Viewers couldn’t believe their eyes, labelling Jennings’ decision not to get to his feet one of the biggest brain farts ever seen in a game of rugby league.

Fox League’s Warren Smith exclaimed in commentary: “What’s happened? What happened to Jennings. That was the changeover!

“I’ve never seen the like of it. He stumbled then didn’t get up to continue running. Robert! I can’t imagine what he was thinking.

Steve Roach added: “Why didn’t he get up and keep going there?”

It got worse for Jennings. Just minutes later, it looked like he scored in the corner but the Bunker ruled he had coughed up the ball while trying to ground it.

But it was a case of third time lucky for Jennings when he redeemed himself by flying over to score in the corner later in the second half.

Jennings redeemed himself with this try. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Another four-pointer to Euan Aitken sealed the win for the Dolphins, while the Titans went scoreless in what was a hapless second half performance.

Speaking post-game, Dolphins forward Jarrod Wallace said he was in a state of shock when Jennings fluffed the certain try.

Wallace said: “I’ve got to go back and check. Did he fall asleep or what?

“I said what’s going on? He said ‘I thought it was double movement’. There was no one within 20 metres of you, you can get up and keep running.

“He iced it with that last one when we needed him to and that was all that mattered.”

The result keeps the Dolphins in the top eight, while the Titans are still searching for their fourth win of the season.