A try in the last 10 minutes to Isaiah Tass has claimed victory for South Sydney over a brave Dolphins side by two points to kick the second Wayne Bennett era off in style.
In what was a week full of turmoil and anxiety for the Dolphins players, staff and families as Tropical Cyclone Alfred bares down on the Brisbane region, their effort in the season opener deserves full praise.
Following a back-and-forth start. Sustained possession allowed South Sydney to camp inside the Dolphins 20m line. Some great passing created the extra man and Tyrone Munro crossed out-wide for the home side. In his maiden appearance in the cardinal and myrtle, Jamie Humphreys made no mistake from outwide to give Souths a converted try lead.
The Dolphins dominated the next portion of the game and crossed back midway through the first half. In a play that would've had the Harlem Globetrotters proud, there was two kicks, it went through several sets of hands before Jamayne Isaako crossed out wide in the corner. The goal kicking from Isaako was waved away and it remained a two-point game.
The kicks were proving to be a problem for both sides. This time the Dolphins struggled to take the Humphreys bomb as Munro toed it ahead and won the race to ground the ball first to score his second try to make it 12-4. The score would remain the same, despite both sides having scoring chances.
The young guns of Humphreys and fullback Jye Gray were the story of the first half, with the former Manly half dictating terms brilliantly in attack before allowing Gray to be a perfect energizer bunny in the middle of the field in the later plays of the set.
The second half began with sad news for the Rabbitohs with early indications suggesting Munro suffered another relapse of a collarbone injury which ruined his 2024 season. Hopefully, further testing comes back in favour of the flying winger. The Dolphins capitalised on an early Tallis Duncan error to cross for the first of the second half. A beautiful cut-out pass from Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow hit Isaako on the chest as he raced away for his second of the contest.
Off another Souths error, the Dolphins continued to camp down the South Sydney end. A ricochet off Campbell Graham allowed Herbie Farnworth to get within metres of the line. From the ensuing play, a Rabbitohs defensive breakdown saw Max Plath beat the Graham tackle to level the scores at 12-12. Isaako finally found the radar to give the Dolphins an unlikely 14-12 lead.
Midway through the second stanza, Farnworth was pinned for an over-reaction after losing the ball in a strong Lachlan Hubner tackle. The attempted penalty goal hit the posts and it appeared the Dolphins would get off the hook. After several errors from both sides threatened to take the game into a tough slog, the Rabbitohs capitalised on some field position and worked play over to the left as Humphreys and Gray combine with Jack Wighton who finds Isaiah Tass to score in the left corner. It would be a nervous conclusion with the gap just two points.
Defence proved the name of the final ten minutes as the Dolphins were desperately searching for a winner. Graham (who shifted to right wing) made the game's biggest tackle, stopping new Dolphins flyer Junior Tupou firmly in his grasp in the final ten minutes. Souths were denied a potential game winning try when Jack Wighton was ruled to have stripped the ball in a highly controversial decision which left commentators and fans perplexed. Fortunately, that decision didn't haunt Souths as they escaped with a two-point verdict.