Canberra will enter the finals series needing to overcome the NRL’s dreaded 50-point hoodoo after they were thrashed by the Dolphins on Sunday.
They can point to the fact that the team they rolled out for the Kayo Stadium showdown was not anywhere near their full-strength line-up but the 62-24 result was not what they needed heading into their qualifying final against the in-form Broncos.
Dolphins star Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow failed to finish the match with a knee injury but the club is confident he has only suffered MCL damage and should not be sidelined long term with Test fixtures just around the corner.
Parramatta consigned Newcastle to the wooden spoon with their 66-10 annihilation at CommBank Stadium with outgoing coach Adam O’Brien ending his six years at the club on a sour note.
1. Very green Machine coughs up hoodoo total
Canberra virtually conceded the two competition points in Redcliffe on Sunday but the fact that they also conceded 50 points on the scoreboard puts them in unwanted territory.
It is one of the NRL’s most regurgitated statistic that no team has had a half-century put on them in a match and won the title in the same season.
But there’s an asterisk on this result because Ricky Stuart rested a dozen of his regular players, rolling out several rookies and fringe first-graders.
The young Raiders refused to lie down and ensured the final margin was not a humiliating one but their superstitious fans will not be happy that they have a hoodoo hanging over their heads as they look to prove their critics wrong in the playoffs.
Canberra will bring back their big guns for next weekend’s qualifying final against the Broncos at GIO Stadium.
The loss to the Dolphins should not really matter in their finals campaign but the psyche of a professional sportsperson can sometimes be undone by the slightest thing or a team can be that little bit off for a reason that has no real substance.
“We were on the back foot for 70-odd minutes. Those types of scenarios they faced was a great learning curve with regards to what happens in the NRL if you are not up to a standard,” coach Ricky Stuart said.
2. Hammer hobbled
Whether he remains with Australia or switches allegiances to Samoa, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow could be out of next month’s international fixtures after limping off with a knee injury in the Dolphins’ demolition of Canberra on Sunday at Kayo Stadium.
The Maroons star was replaced midway through the second half of the 62-24 rout of a severely depleted Raiders side which was not enough to get the Dolphins into eighth spot on the NRL ladder after the Roosters vanquished South Sydney on Friday night.
Tabuai-Fidow’s plans for the Test arena has been a topic of hot debate all season with the 24-year-old reportedly considering making himself available for Samoa, following the lead of Broncos prop Payne Haas, after playing six matches for the Kangaroos over the past two years.
He lay motionless, clutching at his left knee, after he was brought down in an awkward tackle by Raiders five-eighth Adam Cook.
The Hammer was immediately removed from the game and the initial diagnosis is that he had suffered MCL damage rather than an ACL tear.
Scans on Monday will reveal whether he is able to suit up for the Pacific Championships with Samoa or the Ashes tour of England if he remains in the green and gold.
The speedy centre had scored three tries in the space of an hour to bring himself within striking range of Roosters winger Mark Nawaqanitawase in the race to be the NRL’s leading try-scorer for 2025 but he will finish one behind the former Wallaby’s tally of 23.
3. Phins finals bound next year
Tabua-Fidow’s first two tries late in the first half completed an opening-term cakewalk with the Phins holding a 30-0 lead at the break after Tevita Naufahu, Oryn Keeley and Jake Averillo had earlier touched down.
With a dozen first-choice Raiders rested as the minor premiers took the chance for a refresh before the finals, the green Green Machine was outclassed by a rampant Redcliffe opponent.
Debutant winger Michael Asomua latched onto a loose ball to get the visitors on the board soon after the restart but with retiring Dolphins prop Mark Nicholls getting a rare try and being given the honour of taking the conversion attempt with still 25 minutes on the clock, the closing stages were a glorified exhibition match.
Dolphins sharpshooter Jamayne Isaako bagged a try to go with his eight conversions for an 18-point haul to finish on 276 for the season, a whopping 74 ahead of his nearest rival, Sharks half Nicho Hynes.
Despite a heavy injury toll, the Dolphins finished dead square with a 12-12 record, the most points from any team in the NRL with 721 and ninth spot, smack bang in the middle of the 17-team comp.
After missing Tom Gilbert, Tom Flegler, Jack Bostock, Herbie Farnworth, Trai Fuller and Max Plath for large chunks of the season, or all of it in the case of Flegler, they should be playoff certainties next year if they have better luck with injuries.
“To finish ninth and score more points than any team in the competition, it’s outstanding for us and outstanding for our attack, but we know we need to be better defensively,” Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said.
“It’s what we’ve had to build on for the last three years to be fair, and when we find that we’ll start to see what we’re capable of.”
4. Parra playoff material in ‘26 too
The Eels are the other side from the nine that missed this year’s finals who should be feeling confident about their chances of making the leap in 2026.
They slaughtered the Knights at CommBank Stadium on Sunday, racking up a 34-4 lead by half-time with Moses running amok.
The result was purely academic in terms of Parramatta’s season but it did mean they finished in 11th spot, which was about six slots higher than most people expected after their 0-4 start to the year.
Josh Addo-Carr collected a second-half hat-trick and such was Parra’s dominance, Charlie Guymer offloaded to Junior Paulo with the line wide open to ensure his teammate would break his duck for the season.
They brought up their half-century before the 50th-minute mark and had the luxury of cruising to the finish in the final half-hour.
It was a remarkable turnaround when you consider the Eels started the season with a 46-6 first-half humiliation in Melbourne before Jason Ryles’ rebuild started to take effect.
“It was something I won’t forget until the day I die,” Ryles said of the first-up Storm drubbing.
“We’re on a journey and this is to be continued, we need to get back in good shape so we can give ourselves a chance to get better.”
5. Moses has nose in front of Cleary
If you had to pick the Kangaroos team tomorrow, Moses deserves to get the gig ahead of Nathan Cleary.
That’s not to say that Moses is a better player or that Cleary is down on form.
By his own lofty standards, this has been a bit of a down season for Cleary.
Moses, on the other hand, had a delayed start to the year and has also had injury woes but when he has been on the field, Parramatta have been almost a top-four calibre side.
New coach Kevin Walters should have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to choosing his halves for the Ashes tour of England with these two plus Wally Lewis Medallist Tom Dearden and Cameron Munster duking it out for the starting spots.
Peter Sterling had Steve Mortimer as his great rival for the green and gold No.7 jersey, Ricky Stuart and Allan Langer fought it out in the 1990s, and Daly Cherry-Evans kept Cleary at bay before the Panthers star assumed the mantle.
Moses had the spot last year in the Pacific Championships when Cleary was sidelined due to shoulder surgery and the electric Eel has done nothing to suggest he should lose the gig.
The Kick: Worst yet to come for Knights
The NRL ladder can be a confusing beast throughout the season with teams often sitting higher or lower than they actually are due to the uneven distribution of the byes.
But when the regular season is done and dusted, there is no hiding from the fact that if you finish last, you deserve to be there.
Newcastle have been getting progressively worse all year – their attack was abysmal and over the past six rounds, the lowest total they conceded was 38.
They finish the year with the club’s fifth wooden spoon on the back of a nine-game winning streak and the fact that Adam O’Brien had to fall on his sword as coach rather than getting shown the door should be ringing even more alarm bells at the club.
“That was a tough one to watch, I can’t stick a ribbon on that, the people of our town they don’t put up with that bullshit,” O’Brien said.
“Parramatta were good from the first ruck and we were way off.
“The pain and disappointment will ease for these boys, and there are greener shoots, better days ahead, but right now, I can’t lie, I’m bitterly disappointed.”
Unfortunately for the devout Knights faithful, there could be worse to come.
The high-stakes acquisition of Dylan Brown at five-eighth next year is an enormous gamble and the rest of their squad looks past their prime or not able to consistently deliver.
with AAP
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