Injury strikes no dampener for Battle for Brisbane derby foes

While both teams will be fielding depleted line ups, there is plenty riding on this week’s Battle for Brisbane between the Broncos and the Dolphins.

In the five times the two cross-town rivals have met, Brisbane hold a 4-1 winning record, including their 20-12 Round 4 win earlier this year.

Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs, whose ‘this is our house’ try celebration helped build the rivalry admitted last year’s big 40-6 loss in Round 26 - which effectively ruled them out of finals - still stung, but his side were more focused on getting back into the winner’s circle.

“Every time we play the Dolphins, I am always up for it, the boys are as well and it's going to be no different come Saturday,” Staggs said.

“They are a team from Redcliffe and they just come over and just play on the same field.

“I'm more focused about us and what we need to do.

“We need the two points, in the background there is what they did to us (last year), that is still talked about and we will take a bit out of that game and into this game. But those two points is the most important thing for us.”

The Broncos go into this game missing both their starting halves in Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam to hamstring injuries, as well as gun winger Selwyn Cobbo, who will join the Dolphins next year, also with a hamstring complaint. Ben Hunt has been named to start in the halves alongside Billy Walters, with Cory Paix returning as the starting nine.  

“We have some players still at the club who can slot straight in there, it's next man up,” Staggs said.

“Benny Hunt has played almost 350 games and most of them have been in the halves so we have players like that who can slot in there and Billy as well.

“Madge signed him at the Tigers as a five-eighth and we can use him as well. I still have confidence in our boys to do the job and go out there and make the finals.”

For Dolphins forward Mark Nicholls, while the game will have plenty of meaning with both clubs again effectively fighting for their finals standings, he was hoping his side took a strong lesson from last week’s 64-12 heavy loss.

While an undermanned Dolphins stood up to the fiery challenge presented by the Roosters at Suncorp Stadium in terms of theatrics, they were taught a rugby league lesson, with the visitors settling down first after an on-field confrontation that saw four players (Spencer Leniu and Naufahu Whyte from the Roosters and Francis Molo and Aublix Tawha from the Dolphins) sent to the sin bin.

“We watched a little bit of it, but there probably wasn't much … to take out of that game, so we just sort of tried to flush it and move on as quick as we can," Nicholls said.

“For us, we learnt a lesson and there's no point winning the fight or trying to win the fight if you're not going to win the game of footy.

“Footy's a physical game and obviously every team and especially every forward pack's trying to assert their dominance over the other team because it goes a long way to winning the game of footy, but, as I said, at the end of the day, there's no point trying to win the fight if you lose the game of footy.

“I think that's the lesson that hopefully we've taken out of the weekend.”

With Molo out suspended this week, joining Felise Kaufusi who has one more week of his suspension to play out, their already threadbare forward stocks have taken another hit, but they announced another reshuffle in the backs following captain’s run. Trai Fuller is a late inclusion at fullback for his first NRL game since Round 27 last year, while Maroons fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is set to move into the centres in place of Max Feagai, who has injured his shoulder.

“He is brave; everyone loves playing with Trai because of how brave and committed he is,” coach Kristian Woolf said.

“He will do his absolute best in every moment and put his body on the line.

“(Putting Tabuai-Fidow at centre is) our best option at the moment.

“We’ve got a couple of key guys out. We’re a little bit short.

“Hammer is a team player. He’s happy to put his hand up and change positions because he knows it’s best for the team.

“We know we can trust him and he’ll do a good job.”