Tim Williams
SC Playbook founder, 2nd NRL 2020, 43rd BBL 21/22'
Squad breakdown: Dolphins 2024 Supercoach analysis
2020 Supercoach runner-up Tim Williams analyses the buy credentials of the Dolphins squad leading into Round 1.
NRL
February 5, 2024
The Dolphins come into their second full season in the NRL full of promise after defying the critics last year.
They’ve added plenty of quality to their squad, including grand finalist’s Herbie Farnworth and Tom Flegler, and will have the benefit of improved combinations after a season on deck together.
They also boast an incredible amount of depth that will see a number of genuine NRL quality starters playing reserve grade to kick off the season.
They also start the year with arguably the softest draw in the competition, only leaving Queensland once before round 12.
That away game is playing Parramatta in Darwin!
Let’s take a look at the Dolphins NRL Supercoach credentials leading into round 1.
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Embed from Getty ImagesDolphins predicted team
1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow
2. Tesi Niu
3. Herbie Farnworth
4. Jake Averillo
5. Jamayne Isaako
6. Isaiya Katoa
7. Sean O’Sullivan
8. Tom Flegler
9. Jeremy Marshall-King
10. Jesse Bromwich
11. Felise Kaufusi
12. Connelly Lemuelu
13. Kenny Bromwich
14. Kodi Nikorima
15. Tom Gilbert
16. Euan Aitken
17. Mark Nicholls
Unavailable:
Analysis
Recruits Herbie Farnworth and Jake Averillo will forge a new centre pairing to begin the 2024 season.
The forward pack possesses nice depth, that may see Tom Gilbert play off the bench early in the year on return from a lengthy injury lay-off.
If he cruises through trials he’s every chance to be back starting by round 1, but Wayne Bennett may opt to play Kenny Bromwich at lock and Connelly Lemuelu on the edge early in the year.
Once Gilbert is fully fit, the decision will need to be made as to whether Kenny Bromwich makes the fulltime move to the middle or if he pushes the talented Lemuelu to the bench.
Jarrod Wallace could also make his way onto the bench for round 1, highlights some great depth for the Dolphins considering Ray Stone is also likely to miss out.
Embed from Getty ImagesDraw
Cowboys (H), Dragons (H), bye, Titans (A), Tigers (H), Broncos (A), Eels (A, Darwin), Knights (H), Cowboys (A), Sea Eagles (H), Tigers (A, Suncorp Magic Round)
First five rounds rating: 8/10
Guns
Jamayne Isaako (CTW, $783,200)
Isaako was arguably the story of the NRL Supercoach 2023 season, averaging an outstanding 77 points for the year.
After years of showing glimpses of Supercoach ability at the Broncos, he put it all together last season under the guidance of Wayne Bennett.
His 28 in base was solid, he kicks goals and the 24 tries in 24 games also aided his scoring.
For all those reasons, I think he’s priced at his absolute peak and will be avoiding.
While the draw is certainly enticing, I’d be stunned if he was to increase on that average this season to warrant buying early on.
I think there’s much better value early on than Isaako, but hopefully a few low scores early in tight games can lead to a nice price drop where we can look to poach.
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Jeremy Marshall-King (HOK, $639,100)
Marshall-King was superb last year, averaging 63 points per game despite carrying numerous injuries at different stages of the season.
He averaged 74 minutes due to these injuries, but Wayne Bennett’s preference does appear to play him the entire 80.
In 13 games playing 70+ minutes last season he averaged an excellent 69.3 points per game.
Fully fit, in a stronger Dolphins side this year, there’s no reason why he can’t be both the value pick and top scoring hooking option early in the season.
If Kodi Nikorima is the 14 for round 1 this will be a bit of a concern, but hopefully JMK is set to go the distance again.
Even so, if he were to play 65 minutes you might see him running more regularly which could significantly up his scoring output while on the field.
Anything less than 65 minutes would be a major concern, but I think that’s unlikely.
He did have a tonne of attacking output last season, but he’s also a focal point of the Dolphins attack, so there’s no reason why he can’t produce similar.
Very tempting to start the season.
Embed from Getty ImagesMid-rangers
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (FLB-CTW, $600,900)
Hammer, you have my interest.
There’s plenty of reasons to suggest he’s a bad pickup.
He’s awkwardly price for a genuine round 1 gamble, his scoring is volatile, his base isn’t great.
But, he’s a genuine freak.
He wouldn’t interest me in the fullback slot as there’s better options, but available at CTW you’re getting a player with serious upside in what already is a volatile scoring position for almost every player.
In a few games at centre last season his scoring was down, but he’s expected to play fullback for the entirety of 2024.
He’s getting substantially better with every game he plays, and any improvement in the Dolphins will see his attacking opportunities increase.
It’s a case of following the gut over the head with Hammer.
Embed from Getty ImagesTom Flegler (FRF, $475,600)
Despite the Supercoach hype around Tommy Flegler, I’m not super keen.
Whilst not super keen, there’s also a genuine lack of mid-range FRF options that I always look to start with each season.
If you’re not paying up for a top tier player like Tino or Payne, there’s not a lot else to offer.
Flegler averaged 47 points in 44 minutes for the Broncos last season, so I’m not sure how many more minutes he’ll play at the Dolphins.
I can see him getting maybe 50 which would be handy, but it’s not a huge increase.
Maybe he has a higher workload with no Haas or Carrigan taking so many carries?
I’d love to see him free the arm and offload more, but that’s not typically a Wayne Bennett approach.
He averaged 37 in base last year which isn’t great.
That being said, he does have a nice offoad and he can bust tackles, so there is a bit of upside to him.
If no other mid-rangers pop up I may be forced to start with him due to a lack of options in the price bracket, and I am happy to back his ability to lead to an increase in scoring, but I don’t think it’ll be the knock out pick people are expecting.
Embed from Getty ImagesCheapies
Jack Bostock (CTW, $314,500)
I was a little surprised to see so much pre-season chat around Bostock starting on the wing in round 1.
Whether it’s true or not I’m not sure, but to unseat Tesi Niu would suggest he’s blitzing through the pre-season.
If he does start, he’ll be relatively appealing with the soft draw to start the year despite being just above genuine cheapie range.
He played four games last season, averaging 39 points in that time with two tries to his name.
In three of his four games he had scores of just 21, 29 and 17 which is very ordinary.
The right edge of Isaako gets so much of the attacking ball which doesn’t help.
He’s also young though, so perhaps in his second season in the NRL he’ll up his base stats and produce some okay scoring.
There will be job security risk even if he is named, so probably only for me if there’s a lack of decent cheapies to start the season.
Herbie was training inside Isaako today. Does Herbie have sticky fingers?
The other benefit of the Dolphins is that they play all 3 Major bye rounds and 2 out of 3 Minor bye rounds.