Dolphins go swimmingly against Magpies in the rain

At half-time Dolphins coach Scott Murray told his side they weren’t out of the woods yet and just wanted his side to complete and get to a kick and pin the Magpies in their own corner.

“The points will come if we are ruthless in defence and our kick chase is on point... do not clock off and think we have won this game because we haven’t," he said at the break.

The second half started off the same as the first with some strong defence from both sides; the Dolphins went close to scoring only to be stopped by some desperate Magpies cover defence.

As the match wore on and the Magpies tired a little, the Dolphins began to take advantage with Taniela Otokolu consistently making inroads through the Magpies defence.

Jackson Frei crossed in the 52nd minute off a clever Hunter pass to put the Dolphins ahead 20-0 and it would be a long way back from here for the Magpies.

Hunter, a star performer for the Dolphins, is a local Dolphins junior who earned his spot in the Cup side after a string of strong performances in the Hastings Deering Colts side.

“Cody is a local kid who has come all the way through the grades with the club, he forced me to pick him with his outstanding performances in our Colts side,” Murray said after the game.

The Dolphins sealed the match with late tries to Otukolo and Trai Fuller to run out 32-0 winners.

Murray praised his side in the sheds after the game, stating the most pleasing thing him was the Magpies score.

“I was really pleased with our defence... everyone from 1-17 stood up and had a real dig tonight," Murray said.

The best for the Dolphins were Lachlan Timm, Dunamis Lui and Pride Petterson-Robati in the forwards while Hunter, Bruce Donovan and Ed Burns shone in the backs.

The Dolphins will play PNG Hunters in Round 9.

The Magpies will take on Tweed Seagulls.