Dolphins deliver a Hammer blow to Cowboys season

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Dolphins v North Queensland Cowboys

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow collected a double against his former club as the Dolphins recorded a 43-24 win over the North Queensland Cowboys in the opening match of Round 20.

Making a memorable return after being rested following State of Origin III last week, ‘The Hammer' crossed for a brace of tries as the Dolphins scored at will for the first 50 minutes before the Cowboys threatened to conjure a second half miracle that ultimately fell short.

Having posted ten tries against the Cowboys when the two sides met in Townsville five weeks ago, the Dolphins picked up from where they left off with Isaiya Katoa laying on a try for Oryn Keeley (3rd minute) with their first set on the try line.

The Cowboys managed a response minutes later with Scott Drinkwater throwing a lovely cut-out pass to give Murray Taulagi (7th minute) a clean passage to the try line.

A penalty goal to Jamayne Isaako midway through the half gave a false impression of a close contest as Jake Averillo (20th minute) and Tabuai-Fidow (24th minute) produced long-range tries in quick succession to blow the contest wide open.

Squandering an opportunity to collect his second only moments after his first, Tabuai-Fidow (36th minute) atoned just before the break by finishing off a long-range bust from Connelly Lemuelu to give the Dolphins a 24-6 lead.

Halftime did nothing to deter the Dolphins' lust for tries with Harrison Graham (44th minute) barging over from close range before Isaako (47th minute) touched down for his ninth try of the season.

Facing a 34-6 deficit - and the prospect of things getter worse - the Cowboys rallied with tries to Taulagi (56th minute), Drinkwater (62nd minute) and Tom Dearden (63rd minute) in less than ten minutes to breathe new life into what had been a one-sided affair.

The Dolphins managed to extinguish the Cowboys' comeback with Isaako adding a penalty goal and Averillo (76th minute) collecting his second of the night; Isaako's conversion saw the Dolphins bring up 100 points from the two meetings against the Cowboys this season.

Katoa finished the contest with the first field goal of his NRL career to the delight of 23,172 supporters in attendance at Suncorp Stadium.

Next week, the Dolphins will have their final bye of the season, while the Cowboys will host the Dragons at home on Friday evening.