Racing
League
Rugby
Football
Cricket
Golf
Sport Nation
Motorsport
Netball
Basketball
Combat Sports
Olympics
Other Sports
Live sport on SN this weekend'No preference': Dolphins ready for either of top two
Joel Gould, AAP • September 3rd, 2026 5:12 pm
Jake Averillo (pic) will wear No.6 for the Dolphins against Gold Coast in Kodi Nikorima's absence | Photo: Jono Searle/AAP
The Dolphins will play the Warriors or Penrith away in the first week of the finals full of confidence after turning their season around following two narrow losses to the top two clubs earlier this year.
Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said his side would be "ready to go" no matter who they face after confirming two late changes to his squad to play Gold Coast away on Friday night.
Winger Selwyn Cobbo (ankle) had been confirmed as an absentee earlier in the week, with five-eighth Kodi Nikorima (hamstring) and second-rower Kulikefu Finefeuiaki (knee) also missing the clash.
Winger Tevita Naufahu will replace Cobbo, Jake Averillo will wear No. 6, while Connelly Lemuelu and Brian Pouniu are set to share the back-row position.
The Dolphins will field a different looking side from the one which beat the Roosters | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
"Those (injured) blokes will all be fit and healthy next week," Woolf said.
"They could have played at a pinch this week, there's no doubt, but when they're carrying little things, and we know we're in finals and we know things aren't going to change too much, it's the smart decision not to play them."
Woolf's side, currently in third, won't know until Sunday night's Penrith clash against Wests Tigers is over who they will play in week one of finals.
The Dolphins had lost two games in a row before they were beaten 23-22 by Penrith and 20-18 by the Warriors in rounds seven and eight. They then won eight games in a row after finding confidence and a template of how they wanted to play in those two defeats.
In 2006, Brisbane players Shane Webcke and Darren Lockyer pointed to an 18-12 loss to Melbourne, their fifth defeat in a row at the time, albeit later in the season, as the turning point in their year. They went on to beat the Storm in the grand final.
Woolf said the performance up in Darwin against the Panthers, particularly after being 18-nil down at halftime, "showed a lot of character" and taught more lessons than most wins.
"I thought we showed a lot of class as well in terms of the points we were able to find," he said.
"It gave us a lot of confidence and belief in how we were playing and how we needed to play going forward.
"The Warriors game ... over there on Anzac Day, in such a big game in Wellington with a very parochial crowd and very anti-us, it was a tough, physical, heated game.
"We had a lot of guys not playing that day that make a big difference for our team. So again, I think that gave us a lot of confidence and gave us a bit of a blueprint for what we wanted to look like going forward."
Ray Stone provided plenty of grunt for the Dolphins against the Warriors on Anzac Day | Photo: Marty Melville/AAP
The Dolphins, on a six-game winning streak, have since beaten the Warriors in Brisbane, but those two earlier performances are part of the reason Woolf is not worried about the finals draw.
"I don't have a preference. It's out of our control as well," he said.
"What is in our control is what we want out of the game this weekend. We've obviously got some real momentum at the moment and want to carry that into finals."
Tune into Sport Nation for live NRL commentary all season long - download the app today on Google Play and the App Store.
