The club’s surge included emphatic wins against North Queensland (58-4), the Dragons (56-6), Bulldogs (44-8), and Storm (42-22), lifting them to sixth and making them the most clinical attacking side in the competition.
At the heart of their turnaround has been the halves pairing of Isaiya Katoa and Kodi Nikorima, with the former leading the NRL for line engagements (161) and kick metres (6254), while sitting second for try assists (13), and linebreak involvements (13).
When asked if the Dolphins were a finals team with Katoa and Nikorima steering the ship, Marshall-King offered an emphatic response.
“Absolutely. Those two have been connecting well,” he said.
Loading
“[Katoa] is a young kid, really confident, and he leads the team around. He’s going to be a kid that is going to be really great, I am excited to see what is ahead of him, and hopefully the club can keep him for a long time.
“It comes back to our defence, that is something we take pride in. The last three weeks we have kept teams to [less than] 14, and not many teams do that.
“If we get that right, our attack will flow.”
The Dolphins’ current standing, however, strikes an eerie comparison to 2024.
Heading into round 16 in fourth, the Redcliffe-based club suffered a dramatic fall, winning just three more games to miss the finals amid a similar injury toll.
But Marshall-King was adamant that history would not repeat.
“The last two years, we had injuries and started to fall, and we had a lot of losses. This year, it is just something different,” Marshall-King said.
“Adversity has been part of this club since we started. We’ve had a lot of injuries and setbacks in our team, but the boys have stepped up.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
About The Author
