Stopping the 596 points the Dolphins conceded in 2025 is now the immediate test that will determine whether their league-leading attack pays off, and Selwyn Cobbo’s arrival increases selection pressure on the wide men. Saturday morning ET will deliver a key hooker fitness test that precedes Sunday’s battle at Suncorp Stadium and will signal whether coach Kristian Woolf’s defensive demands have been answered.
Dolphins defence must erase the 596-point leak from 2025
The primary consequence for fans and management is stark: the Dolphins scored a league-high 721 points in 2025 but also let in 596, an average of 24. 83 points per match, and that defensive record cost them a finals berth. In the last 10 rounds of 2025 the club conceded 24 or more points nine times, a run that management has identified as unsustainable if the team wants to progress beyond near misses.
Selwyn Cobbo adds pressure to a pacey backline that must close gaps
Selwyn Cobbo’s signing increases competition out wide in a backline already described as the quickest in the league and headlined by Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow. The Dolphins list Jamayne Isaako, Herbie Farnworth, Jack Bostock, Jake Averillo and Trai Fuller alongside Cobbo, creating more opportunity but also raising selection stakes for match-day defence and cohesion.
For Cobbo personally the season is framed as make-or-break: he trained over the Christmas break for the first time and arrived 10 kilos lighter than the previous year, seeking to restart a career that the context presents as needing a fresh start after a disappointing 2025 with Brisbane. That physical change is directly linked to expectations that he will apply himself at training and become an asset to the club.
Saturday morning ET fitness test for Kurt Donoghoe will determine bench reshuffle
One immediate tactical consequence is tied to Kurt Donoghoe’s hamstring concern: he has been named at hooker but faces a fitness test on Saturday morning ET, and the result will change the Dolphins’ bench plan for Sunday. If Donoghoe is ruled out, Brad Schneider is expected to move from the bench into the No. 9 role, a swap that alters bench minutes and how Jeremy Marshall-King’s covering time is managed.
Coach Kristian Woolf and chairman Bob Jones have both signalled defence as the priority—Jones made it clear at the season launch that Woolf must fix the defensive leaks—so the outcome of the fitness test will be an early indicator of whether the team can execute the defensive drills and attitude changes emphasised in pre-season. Oryn Keeley said the emphasis in training has been on fatigue drills, trust and resilience, framing defence as “an attitude thing” that he plans to focus on every game.
Still, the Dolphins’ attacking potency remains a secondary lever they must protect: mid-season stretches in 2025 included 44-8, 56-6 and 58-4 wins over Canterbury, St George Illawarra and North Queensland respectively, showing the attack can overwhelm opponents. That scoring ability means if the defensive issues are fixed, the team has the firepower to convert high-scoring outputs into sustained finals contention.
For now the immediate test is concrete and scheduled: a fitness test for Kurt Donoghoe on Saturday morning ET and Sunday’s match at Suncorp Stadium. If Donoghoe is ruled out on Saturday morning ET, Brad Schneider will move from the bench to No. 9 for Sunday’s game and the Dolphins’ defensive configuration will be forced into an early trial under game conditions.
