Field goal gets Dolphins first win of the season

It took a field goal in the 76th minute by skipper Bryce Donovan for Redcliffe Dolphins to secure their first win in 188 days.

Going into the match without the experienced Aaron Whitchurch and Broncos contracted players Jamil Hopoate and Cory Paix, and given the wet conditions, the game was expected to be a tight affair against Souths Logan Magpies.

The Dolphins started well with gun hooker Jake Turpin crossing the line, but he was unable to get the ball down.

Then it was like groundhog day for the Dolphins, conceding a penalty immediately putting themselves under pressure in defence and Magpies made the home side pay when Mitchell Frei crossed untouched to give the Magpies a 4-0 lead.

For the second week in a row, the Dolphins lost a player after ten minutes of play with fullback Trai Fuller leaving he field with an ankle injury that left him unable to return to the field of play.

Wearing their heritage jerseys, the Dolphins defence midway through the first half took you back to the 1980s when Wally Fullerton-Smith and Bryan Niebling ruled the ruck for the Dolphins.

Led by Turpin and the returning Nathan Watts, the pair were hunting the Magpies attackers with brute force. 

But the Magpies were more than willing to cop the punishment and deal some of their own back with Patrick Mago, Brendon Gibb and Harrison Muller leading the charge.

Further tries to Simone Fatafehi for the Magpies and Dolphins' Jeremy Hawkins in the shadows of the halftime siren saw the teams go to the break locked at 10-10.

From the kick off in the second half, Gerome Burns ran through some lazy Dolphins defence and set sail on a 70-metre run.

A Scott Doyle penalty goal put the Magpies ahead by two before Gibb pounced on a clever grubber kick that rebounded off the post for the Magpies to go ahead 18-10 with 25 minutes left to play.

Dolphins fans were wondering where the points were going to come from after the Magpies repelled every Dolphins attacking raid.

Then the Dolphins found a chink in the Magpies armour when Jordan Grant ran onto a Jayden Nikorima pass and beat two Magpies defenders and carried another two over the line.

A penalty goal to Donovan in the 71st minute tied the scores up at 18-18, and with the Dolphins having the better field position, one was wondering when they’d go for the one pointer. 

Then with four minutes left on the clock, Donovan became the hero of the day when he calmly slotted over the field goal despite having four Magpies defenders bearing down on top of him.

After the match coach Dolphins coach Adam Mogg praised his side for staying in the contest, but conceded there was still plenty of work to do moving forward.

Best for the Dolphins were Jeremy Hawkins, Brayden Dee and Tom Geraghty while for the Magpies' Gerome Burns was a danger every time he touched the ball, and he was well supported by Mitchell Frei and Patrick Mago.