Dolphins edge Dragons to close in on first finals berth

Jasper Bruce |

Selwyn Cobbo scored two tries for the Dolphins against the Dragons but had this effort disallowed.
Selwyn Cobbo scored two tries for the Dolphins against the Dragons but had this effort disallowed.

The Dolphins are within striking distance of a historic first NRL finals berth following a 28-22 defeat of brave St George Illawarra in Wollongong.

After narrowly missing the top eight the past two seasons, the NRL’s newest side need only one more victory to finish 2026 with a winning record.

Star halfback Isaiya Katoa returned from injury and came up with the controversial defensive play that helped the Dolphins score Friday’s match winner.

Kaotosa
Back from injury, Isaiya Katoa came up with a crucial play. (PR IMAGE PHOTO)

With a little more than 10 minutes remaining, veteran centre Val Holmes streaked down the left side as the Dragons hunted an equalising try.

But Katoa tapped his inside pass to the ground and snatched back possession, with the home crowd jeering on the belief the halfback had knocked the ball on.

On debut, referee Kieren Irons ruled his touch had been backwards, allowing the Dolphins to march up the field and put Tom Flegler over for the decisive try.

Selwyn Cobbo nabbed a try-scoring double in a win that puts the fifth-placed Dolphins two wins clear of eighth with five more weeks before finals.

The newest signing of the Dragons’ recruitment blitz, Dolphins five-eighth Kodi Nikorima had a mixed night against his future club.

He put Connelly Lemuelu into space, grabbed a superb flick pass from the second-rower, then helped Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to the Dolphins’ first try.

But a Nikorima error put the Dragons in position for their first try, and the five-eighth blew another chance in the red zone when his pass for Cobbo sailed into touch.

KN
Kodi Nikorima served up a mixed bag against his future team. (PR IMAGE PHOTO)

The improving Dragons led after 20 minutes, scoring their first two tries as Clint Gutherson and Kyle Flanagan combined on both sides of the park.

They were back within six points when five-eighth Lykhan King-Togia, replacing underwhelming recruit Dan Atkinson, put Tyrell Sloan into space.

Grabbing King-Togia’s floating cut-out ball Sloan streaked down the left edge and then passed inside to Gutherson, who made it a one-score game.

But Flegler’s game-sealing effort confirmed the result, despite a late Ryan Couchman try for the Dragons.

Toby Couchman failed a head injury assessment in the sheds during the first half.

AAP