Coaches Corner with Anthony Griffin

THE jockeying is on this month by quite a few sides for a top three place in the Queensland Cup. The Emerald Group Dolphins are right in the mix and thankfully we have our destiny in our own hands. Naturally our preference would be to nail down a one, two or three spot to give us more opportunities to advance in the finals series. Our victory over the Toowoomba Clydesdales late last month certainly advanced our cause, but we do have the bye in the final round, which we do not gain any points for. Our upcoming matches are against Souths Logan (Dolphin Oval), North Queensland (Townsville) and Tweed Seagulls (Redcliffe). Obviously the NQ Young Guns fixture shapes as a crunch showdown with the home side in great form and constantly near the top of the ladder. Our run in is no worse or better than the other contenders and I'm confident that if we play to our potential and injuries stay away we will give a good account of ourselves.

SOME fans would have heard about the accident to winger Alwyn Simpson. Alwyn was knocked off his moped on his way to work after the Norths Devils match. Apart from a skin graft to a knee, Alwyn also had his calf sliced, resulting in multiple operations. At the end of July he was still in hospital with doctors having trouble closing the wound. Our best wishes go to Alwyn, who had been in the top side all season, and it is a terrible shame for his year to end like this.

OUR club received a boost during July with four Dolphins selected for the Queensland Residents to take on NSW in the main curtain-raiser to Origin III in Melbourne. Adam Starr, Troy Lindsay, Ryan Cullen and Michael Roberts were all in action as the Maroons went down 28-20. There wasn't much in the result with Troy looking certain to score late in the match only to have the ball dislodged by a defender as he charged into a gap. Adam and Ryan both scored tries midway through the second half against a Blues side that had led 28-8 by the 60th minute. It was a great experience for our boys and even more remarkably they all backed up for us four days later against Norths.

WE may have been beaten by Burleigh Bears last month when our rep players were away, however the fixture still provided some memorable highlights. Prop Dom Fallini made his Queensland Cup debut as did interchange hooker Chris Jelich. In another first, true clubman Grant Flugge captained the side in another whole-heartened performance. The Dolphins are holding on to our lead in the club championship, a title we are very keen to regain this season. The sturdy efforts of the Colts and A grade are helping our cause a great deal.