Dolphins captain Tom Gilbert’s State of Origin campaign and perhaps the rest of the season could be in jeopardy after the Maroons forward suffered a pectoral injury in Saturday’s loss to the Warriors.
Gilbert left the field in the 30th minute of the 16-10 loss, clutching at his chest after falling off a tackle which led to a try to opposing forward Marata Niukore.
The 24-year-old missed the entire 2024 season with an ACL tear after sitting out most of the previous year with a shoulder injury.
Gilbert, who would have been a certain selection in Billy Slater’s Origin I squad but now faces scans to determine the extent of the damage, was seen in the dressing room with ice on his pec and left arm in a sling.
After Niukore drew first blood, the Warriors went 10-0 up soon after when Kurt Capewell finished off a Luke Metcalf break but there was drama in the lead-up with referee Michael Gough allowing the visitors to keep possession even though winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck clearly knocked on while trying to catch a bomb.
Even RTS was surprised when the ref ruled he had knocked it back and the Warriors were crossing the stripe just a few plays later after Metcalf grubbered behind the line, regathered and sent Capewell over in the corner.
The Warriors scored in the second half through bench forward Jacob Laban after a a Chanel Harris-Tavita bomb.
The Dolphins had three near-misses disallowed, including one to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, by the Bunker when Mark Nicholls was ruled to have knocked the ball forward although the trajectory was very similar to the Tuivasa-Sheck call which also went against the home side.
They even won a scrum against the feed but Gough again drew the ire of the crowd by ordering a reset.
Tabuia-Fidow finally touched down for Redcliffe in the 70th minute when he speared through a stretched defensive line and when Herbie Farnworth sprinted over out wide with three minutes on the clock, Kristian Woolf’s team looked like they could pull off a remarkable comeback.
But their last-ditch raid came to nothing when winger Jack Bostock’s kick ahead went out on the full and the Warriors hung on to record their eighth win from 10 matches this season to consolidate second spot on the ladder behind Canterbury.
Kiwi prop James Fisher-Harris was put on report and sin-binned in the 76th minute for a high shot on Dolphins hooker Harrison Graham.
The Dolphins have slipped to a 4-7 record and could finish as low as 15th by the end of the round.
