I understand everyone's concerns about fatigue and how this game might be a perfect storm in many ways because i) we are due a loss, ii) we are away from home and iii) we keep getting out of jail. But everything is relative. Fatigue is impacting every team in the nrl this year and I'm not convinced that we are anywhere near the worst impacted. Our injury concerns are nothing compared to Souths for example. Dolphins are yet to have a bye.
The dolphins too have been playing with a severely depleted pack for much of the year. Any deficiencies they can exploit with our makeshift backline we can make back in spades by exploiting their traditional softness in the middle. We have a clear edge in the forwards this week even if Saifiti comes back. Teams that have beaten the Dolphins this year have bashed through the front door (ie Roosters and Canberra the last 2 weeks). That's our blueprint for this game and we are more than capable of replicating it.
The return of
Fish is going to be massive. In many ways, the fact that we are 4-0 without
Fish might suggest his return might not be impactful. But I think it's the reverse: his intensity, both on and off the field, is rubbing off on all the players, especially our younger forwards. With him on the field alongside
Barney, I think we're going to be better in the 40-60 min period where we have lost our way in the last 2 games.
DWZ with another week under his belt is going to be better and provide more energy out of the back.
RTS will also be looking to make an impact on his return. In short, we'll have plenty of fresh energy coming back into this side.
No game is easy in the nrl, but I'm going to back the boys to continue the streak this week and make it 5 in a row going into the Raiders clash. In general, I think the Dolphins best chance is if they blow us away at the start with their raw pace. If we are able to turn this into a close, grinding affair, I think we win this. We are the kings of clutch this year. We've done well closing games out even if we still have momentary lapses leading up to the final quarter.