Updated ,first published
Jamayne Isaako has produced one of the finest performances of his NRL career, and in doing so, sent the Bulldogs into panic stations with their season teetering on the brink of collapse.
The New Zealand Test winger was in a realm of his own in his side’s 44-12 triumph at Suncorp Stadium, crossing for a hat-trick and producing some of the more miraculous assists of the season.
Having showcased a mixture of speed, strength and classy finishes in each of his three tries, it was his miracle pass as he was being tackled into touch while midair for his centre Jack Bostock to score that had to be seen to be believed.
Isaako was the beneficiary of brilliant work by his halves for his first two tries, with Isaiya Katoa’s long pass for Bostock providing the space for the Kiwi to fly into the corner. His second came courtesy of a sensational cutout ball from Kodi Nikorima, in what was his first game back from a two-game suspension.
His third, however, was brilliant – latching onto a Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow pass to fend off three defenders in a half-field run that showed even after 13 years in professional rugby league, he still had plenty of speed to burn.
On the back of Isaako’s 248 running metres, four linebreaks and eight tackle busts, his team lifted – Katoa and Nikorima pulling the strings brilliantly.
“It’s the best game I’ve seen him play,” Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said of Isaako, who will leave for the Melbourne Storm at season’s end.
“He was outstanding in the way he carried, outstanding with his opportunities down the sideline there, and took his chances as well.”
Bulldogs woes compounded. Where to now?
Everything seemed to point to Canterbury-Bankstown breaking a limp three-game losing streak after this clash’s opening 30 minutes. Instead, coach Cameron Ciraldo was left issuing a callout to his New South Wales Cup players, declaring there would now be spots up for grabs.
“If one of the young blokes in New South Wales Cup wants to put their hand up, there’s going to be an opportunity for them. If they want to stay in system and put their body on the line, we’re looking for guys who want to do that,” Ciraldo said.
At the half-hour mark, the visitors had 77 per cent of the territory and had only conceded once. They still led 12-4 at that point, with Lachlan Galvin’s bullet pass for Jaeman Salmon to score getting the ball rolling, before a miracle no-look pass from Connor Tracey provided safe passage for Stephen Crichton to cross.
Yet somehow, they trailed at halftime with only 12 men on the field, after Jacob Preston was sent to the sin bin for a late hit on Katoa after throwing a switch pass.
Even with all that field position – and the Dolphins gifting them several chances with seven first-half penalties – the Bulldogs just could not capitalise. Sam Hughes, Sitili Tupouniua and Bailey Hayward all knocked on inside the Dolphins’ 20-metre zone, before a hurried Galvin tap-on was swooped on by Isaako.
That initial break and offload for Bostock led to a shift the other way for Selwyn Cobbo to cross, before Preston was given his marching orders.
“I don’t know what you want him to do: Katoa has got the ball, he’s going to tackle him and release it a millisecond before he hits him, I don’t understand it,” Ciraldo said.
As Preston remained missing, Isaako sealed his hat-trick, and that was all the momentum the Dolphins needed – hooker Jeremy Marshall-King scoring in his first appearance of the year out of dummy-half, before Katoa’s double pump for Nikorima extended the margin further.
The duo combined again late to unleash Cobbo for his second from long range, as the enigmatic winger pushes his case for a Queensland Maroons recall.
There was just a sense that with every opportunity to attack the Bulldogs missed, they were inviting the Dolphins back in, and had let a golden chance to get their season back on track slip – just as they had against the Broncos two weeks earlier on this same Brisbane turf.
From that, their defence on the edges went up in flames, with 46 missed tackles to the Dolphins’ 19, while conceding eight linebreaks.
“Our forwards are working their asses off, trying really hard and putting a lot of effort in, and then on the edges we either decide to not stay in system or decide to not put our body on the line,” Ciraldo said.
“I feel so sorry for our forwards because they just keep turning up and ripping in. We’re flinching, and at our best we don’t flinch.”
While this was a Bulldogs side missing several key men – Matt Burton (illness), Viliame Kikau (pec), Kurt Mann (concussion), Jacob Kiraz (knee) and Max King (jaw) – they had enough opportunities.
Making 10 errors to the Dolphins’ four was never going to lead to success,but Ciraldo was left frustrated by the second-half penalty count, as his side eventually gave up eight and five ruck infringements.
“I don’t see us being that much more ill-disciplined than the opposition and there are times when I just can’t understand where those penalties come from. I feel like there are ones where we’re an easy target,” Ciraldo said.
Worrying trend emerges
For all the attacking brilliance these Dolphins can come up with, their slow starts will undoubtedly cost them against the competition’s leading teams.
Only once from nine outings this year have they scored first, and Thursday continued that trend in a worrying sign. Inside the first 15 minutes, they had conceded three penalties and two ruck infringements, while coming up with a pair of errors.
“I couldn’t put my finger on what’s going wrong to start games, but the way we’re defending our try line at the moment, to only let in two tries … and to fight our way back into that game, find the momentum back, and go into halftime up I think gave us a lot of confidence going into that second half,” Katoa said.
