Dolphins into NRL’s final four with comeback win over Warriors

Updated September 12, 2026 — 7:18pm,first published 6:33pmFor nearly four decades Brisbane has been the Broncos’ turf, a status earned with seven premierships and a galaxy of stars.On the penultimate weekend of this season, however, Suncorp Stadium will be painted red and white.The new kids on the block, the Dolphins, are the toast of the town, booking a home preliminary final with a come-from-behind 26-16 victory over the New Zealand Warriors at Go Media Stadium in Auckland.The club has a long and rich history in Brisbane suburban football stretching back to 1947, but the NRL iteration is in its infancy and this was its finest hour to date.In their first finals match, the Dolphins trailed 16-8 with 20 minutes remaining in what to that point had been an old-school battle of attrition featuring six penalty goals – five of them to the Warriors – and three sin-binnings.But they stormed home with tries to Herbie Farnworth, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Jack Bostock to move to within just one match of a title decider in only their fourth season in the league.“It’s one of those things you can’t describe what it means. It’s obviously massive for everyone involved at the club,” Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said. “The club has done such a good job over four years.“The blokes who deserve the credit are the players. The way they played tonight, they bravery they showed under pressure, they’ve done that so many times at the back end of the season ... They’re in this position for a reason and that’s because they want to work hard and they want to work hard for each other.”While the Dolphins will have the week off before their grand final qualifier, the Warriors will be forced to take the long route in the finals, starting with a sudden-death showdown against Newcastle next weekend.Farnworth and Bostock stood up when it counted in the four-tries-to-one triumph while a hitherto quiet Tabuai-Fidow also shot to life in the closing stages to put the visitors in front with an end-to-end try.Stung by the defeat, the Warriors could also again be without Jackson Ford against the Knights after he injured his ankle in his return from a torn pectoral muscle.They had also suffered an unexpected blow before play when Leka Halamisa strained a hamstring in the warm-up and was scratched.Amid the disappointment, Warriors coach Andrew Webster was putting on a brave face.“I don’t think we can sulk for long. There’s another path for us,” Webster said.“It’s not the direct path, it’s going to be a different one. We’ve got to move on quick.”Dolphins players celebrate in the dying stages.Getty ImagesThe Dolphins had been left a man down soon after kick-off when Thomas Flegler’s head connected with Mitch Barnett’s hip in a tackle and he was ruled out with concussion.There followed a procession of players off the field for reasons other than injury and interchange in a highly charged first half.First, Halasima’s last-minute replacement Adam Pompey was sin-binned for a shoulder charge on Ray Stone, then Kurt Capewell and Selwyn Cobbo were each marched for 10 minutes for running to join a melee.That briefly left the Warriors with 11 versus 12 but they still managed to take a 12-8 lead to the break courtesy of Taine Tuaupiki, who spun and stepped beyond four defenders to score a fabulous individual try and booted three penalty goals.Webster’s side had leaked 88 points in the past three weeks but held their line desperately to restrict the Dolphins to a sole try to Cobbo, set up with a deft catch and pass from Farnworth.The Dolphins might have lost another to the sin bin 10 minutes after play resumed but Connelly Lemuelu escaped with going on report for a hip-drop tackle on Ali Leiataua.They slipped further behind with two more Tuaupiki goals.The stage was set for a thrilling finale just after the hour, however, when Farnworth scooped up a bouncing ball and swerved between three tacklers to cross the line.Six minutes later Tabuai-Fidow burst into action, racing clear from deep in the Dolphins’ territory before linking with Farnworth to hit the lead.Bostock’s opportunistic steal with five minutes on the clock clinched the late ambush.Webster defended his side repeatedly opting to take the two points rather than pushing for more.He said if the Warriors had declined the shots and goal and “got beaten by two, I probably would have got sacked”.“To go up by eight points is a no-brainer, you’ve got to do it,” Webster said.In the end, it wasn’t enough.Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners