Cricket
Racing
Rugby
League
Motorsport
Football
Golf
Combat Sports
Basketball
Tennis
Other Sports
Sport Nation
In-stadium commentary at Mt SmartDolphins star climbs off hospital bed to muzzle Bulldogs
George Clarke, AAP • May 23rd, 2025 10:00 am
Photo: AAP
Herbie Farnworth has revealed that 24 hours before the Dolphins demolished ladder-leading Canterbury he was in a Brisbane hospital bed hooked to an intravenous drip.
Farnworth scored a try for the sixth-straight game as the Dolphins survived a deluge in Sydney to knock over the Bulldogs on their home patch in a 44-8 thrashing on Thursday.
The English international's commitment to playing was matched by nuggety hooker Kurt Donoghoe who scored a try late in the Dolphins' resounding win after suffering a badly-broken nose.
Red-hot centre Farnworth said he realised on Tuesday that he had picked something up around a cut on his leg.
Could the Wahs finish in the NRL's top two? | Running It Straight
He admitted himself to hospital later that day and only flew into Sydney on Thursday, a few hours before his side's big win at Accor Stadium.
"I had a massage booked on Tuesday and I was a bit crook and had to cancel it. I knew I was crook if I had to cancel my massage," Farnworth said.
"I made the call with the club to go to hospital and go on the IV and I didn't really take to the IVs too well.
"Just as I was leaving the hospital, they told me to go back in because the results came back and it wasn't effective. That was a bit of a nightmare.
"I probably didn't think I was going to play last night, but once I got on the right IV, I started feeling a bit better."
Farnworth's tale of courage was matched by Donoghoe's impressive effort after clashing heads with Bulldogs halfback Toby Sexton inside the opening 10 minutes.
The NRL is slowing down the game with current use of The Bunker | Running It Straight
The Fijian international's nose looked like it was made of plasticine by full-time - teammate Felise Kaufusi said Donoghoe was "already ugly enough" - after club doctor Peter Hackney cracked it back into place.
"It kept bleeding the whole game, and I was breathing out of my mouth the whole time," Donoghoe said.
"I just remember going hard for a tackle, I reeled out of it, I put my hand on my face and I couldn't feel my nose.
"I felt the bone was across my face… I didn't really want to look in the mirror when I came back in."
The Dolphins' gutsy heroics has helped them to two-straight wins outside of Queensland for the first time since the club entered the NRL in 2023 and moves Kristian Woolf's side to within touching distance of the top-eight.
The fact they did it without half-a-dozen injured stars as well as Maroons flyer Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow makes the victory all the more impressive.
"We're definitely capable of beating anybody in the league," Farnworth said.
"We have got to get that week in and week out now and put in that fulltime performance. It's a great win going into a bye."
