On Sunday, rugby league’s new expansion team the Dolphins staged one of the great modern upsets, bowling over the powerhouse Roosters to win their very first game in the NRL—and it may be the spark for something bigger too.
Isaiya Katoa is sure there’s more to come from the Dolphins after their boilover win.
[bet-au-3]
Before Saturday’s game, most weren’t giving the Redcliffe outfit more than half a chance. They had already been lined up to collect the 2023 wooden spoon at very, very short $2 odds and their first outing, against Sydney at Suncorp Stadium, was basically already being chalked up as a loss to start their inaugural campaign.
Instead, Bennett’s assortment of battlers, youngsters, and club castaways pulled together to blow the Roosters off the park, scoring a 28-18 victory that reverberated across the rest of the NRL in a wave.
That excitement, Katoa says, is all the inspiration the Dolphins need to stun plenty this year. There’s an energy building, he says, that can put the Redcliffe expansion right in the mix to the final whistle. “[We’re] just feeding off that energy from that game,” he told media after the win. “I can’t wait to get to next week.”
The victory puts the team in very good stead ahead of round two.
“I think the boys will enjoy [that win] and then we go back to the drawing board and we’ve got another job next week,” the halfback said, adding he believes they’ve set up a good base to roll on.
Young 18-year-old Katoa, who was handed the Dolphins’ number six jumper over veteran Anthony Milford in the build-up to the club’s first appearance, said the lessons the entire Redcliffe squad had taken away from their Roosters boilover—the good and the bad—would only add to the excitement drive them forwards.
“It was incredible [to finally get out there], what an amazing atmosphere it was,” he said.
With a laugh, he pointed to one big lesson he earned on Saturday that he is still shaking off: that big, crunching hit from Sydney’s wunderkind centre Joseph Suaali’i that saw him drop the ball and struggle to get back up.
“[The Suaali’i tackle] made me realise, that’s the first-grade physicality, that kind of epitomises what you have to do,” the Dolphins half said when ticking off the things he’d already catalogued from game one. “You have get back up after those and keep going, but, that hurt man! But it was still good to get up there and stay on the field after that shot.”
Katoa bounced back from it though, and went on to ice the game with his passing.
“I’ve done a lot of work on the mental side (of my game), when I’m trying to move on after I’ve made an error or a mistake, and Wayne and Woolfy [assistant coach Kristian Woolf], they’ve been massive on helping me focus on my next job,” Katoa said.
“Even after the mistake, it’s not about the mistake that counts, it’s about my response after the mistake. That’s something that I’m still learning and that’s part of the journey.”
And the journey has a long way to go. Katoa and the Dolphins may have scored a major, memorable victory over one of the biggest heavyweights in the NRL to open their books, but the rugby league season stretches all the way to October. It’s a path the 19-year-old is confident his team can walk, with that energy a key crutch in their building glory.
The NRL’s newest team returns to the field on Saturday against the Raiders.
[bet-au-3]
