Any coach taking over from Wayne Bennett will no doubt try to deflect from the innuendo of the curse of the master the mentor – the narrative that whoever takes over from the wily veteran is doomed to fail within the early stages of their tenure.
Yet to start his time at the Dolphins’ helm, Kristian Woolf has a steep mountain to climb to ensure those rumblings do not emerge again.
The NRL’s newest outfit are 0-3 after succumbing to a 30-18 defeat at the hands of the Wests Tigers, having been fast starters but poor finishers in their opening two campaigns.
Kulikefu Finefeuiaki after the Dolphins’ defeat to Wests Tigers.Credit: NRL Photos
Woolf was a proven winner going into the hot seat, winning three premierships from three seasons in the English Super League with St Helens.
He even arguably had a stronger squad at his disposal, with the additions of Kulikefu Finefeuiaki and former NSW enforcer Daniel Saifiti bolstered by the injury return of Tom Gilbert.
Even so, they are yet to open their account, and Saturday’s encounter against the reigning wooden spooners – having led until the 68th minute through tries to Jack Bostock, Herbie Farnworth and Kodi Nikorima – will only heighten concerns that the Bennett curse is very much a real phenomenon.
Jason Demetriou, Rick Stone and Anthony Seibold have all fallen before the ends of their contracts after taking over from the seven-time title winner, but Woolf has refused to hit the panic button thus far.
“There’s no panic stations or anything like that at the moment. I’ve been in this position before, and so have most of the players. We’re not a mile off, we did a lot of good things out there tonight, but we need to stop beating ourselves. Once we do that, we’ll be a much better footy side.”
Kristian Woolf
The Hammer needs to drop
For all the blistering ability Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow possesses, he needs to make himself more involved if the Dolphins are to have a chance of becoming a premiership contender.
The Origin flyer was kept quiet on Saturday afternoon – finishing with just 87 running metres from 10 carries without a tackle bust.
On his day, “The Hammer” can win a game on his own back – his speed second to none and elusive running style nearly impossible to stop once he is in a mood.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow needs to get more involved for the Dolphins.Credit: NRL Photos
But in a similar criticism of Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell, the 23-year-old does not inject himself into the contest in the same manner as a Dylan Edwards or Kalyn Ponga.
Even Jye Gray, stepping into Mitchell’s shoes as he recovers from a hamstring injury, has made himself one of the most active No.1s in the game in 2025.
Tabuai-Fidow is undoubtedly the Dolphins’ best attacking asset, but he cannot be waiting for his moments to strike – he needs to take accountability and make those chances happen.
But when asked if he was disappointed no member of his spine stood up with the game on the line, Woolf refused to target anyone.
“I don’t think it was an individual, we can certainly take some responsibility for our fifth play, but we left three tries out there that were definite tries. We need to nail those opportunities when we’re there. When we made the errors, we tended to complicate them with penalties, so I;m not disappointed with every individual player.”
Kristisan Woolf
Gilbert’s biggest sign comeback is complete
Tom Gilbert’s story has been widely documented – forced out of the game for 18 months as he battled a dislocated shoulder and a ruptured ACL.
But while the Maroons star has been admirable in the campaign’s opening exchanges, his try-saving tackle was perhaps the greatest sign his comeback was complete.
With the Dolphins leading 18-12, Tigers centre Starford To’a looked certain to score from a Jahream Bula grubber, only for the desperate skipper to come to the rescue and force the ball loose centimetres from the line.
It was the sort of play which typifies his character: tough, unrelenting and to the final whistle.
His side may have been foiled, but it has been through no fault of Gilbert, who has worn his heart on his sleeve as he continues to work his way back to full fitness and peak performance after such a long stint on the sidelines.
“I think we’ve left two games out there and it’s probably our own fault. I know the group we have out there are keen and hungry and want to be better, and we’ve got the work ethic to get better.”
Tom Gilbert
They may be down, but the recruits are standing tall
He managed less than an hour in his Dolphins debut before leaving the field with concussion, but in his first full game for his new side, Finefeuiaki has made himself an early contender for one of the leading recruits of the year.
The former Cowboy was trapped behind Jeremiah Nanai and Heilum Luki for a spot in North Queensland’s back row, but his wrecking ball approach has ignited the NRL’s newest outfit’s edge and caused nightmares for the Tigers.
The 21-year-old ran for 121 metres and five tackle busts in just 54 minutes against the Rabbitohs, before being forced to miss the defeat to Newcastle the following week.
Daniel Saifiti impressed for the Dolphins.Credit: NRL Photos
But against the Tigers, he was damaging, finishing with 97 running metres from just eight carries to firmly throw his name into State of Origin calculations for the Queensland Maroons.
Ironically, his inclusion could come at the cost of Nanai, who has failed to fire this year and even felt the Cowboys’ axe.
Finefeuiaki’s fellow recruit, Saifiti, was also in the thick of the action, finishing with 125 running metres and 36 tackles for no misses.
His linebreak and final pass for Farnworth to score looked to put a statement on a dominant first-half performance from the Dolphins. However, the former Blues star needs better support from the likes of Felise Kaufusi and Mark Nicholls to keep the Dolphins in the hunt.
