"Very dangerous": Gardiner praises 'phenomenal' Dolphins

Ben Gardiner has applauded the Dolphins following their win in their first-ever finals match.

With a third-place finish on the ladder, the Dolphins travelled to Auckland to face the Warriors with a home preliminary final up for grabs.

And despite being down at half-time, the Redcliffe-based club rallied in the second half to pull off a 26-16 win.   

With the fourth-year club just one win away from a maiden Grand Final, the Samoa coach expressed plenty of admiration for their performance, particularly during the last 40 minutes.

“They're in better shape because of the outcome of the game,” Gardiner explained on SEN’s Front Office with Vossy.

“Their performance was phenomenal, particularly the second half.

“We know that they've struggled with starting games, and they didn't start the game as well as we probably would have liked.

“But they've got this ability where their big players are so fit and so fast at the back end of the game that they're able to jump in and take over in the second half of the game.

“I thought in the second half, Herbie (Farnworth), Hammer (Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow) and (Jack) Bostock were just phenomenal, that try that Hammer set up with his breakdown of the backfield. That's just like as big as it gets.

“Then you've got the combinations of (Kurt) Donoghue and (Isaiya) Katoa. Donoghue's really straightening them up, giving Katoa time and space.

“People aren't even really talking about Katoa and how good a job he did. I thought he did a phenomenal job at controlling the game and putting the ball in the corner and really controlling where the Warriors were receiving the ball.”

The Perth Bears assistant coach also remarked on the performance of Tabuai-Fidow and Farnworth in particular, with the duo combining for two tries, two try assists and 408 run metres.

“In the back end of the game, like Herbie and Hammer, wow,” he continued.

“Whenever you've got players like that in your team and the ability that they have to break tackles and accelerate into space, I just think that they're a massive chance.

“The other thing that I'll add to that is their desperation defensively as well. That's another thing for them.

“I think that they got better line speed on the weekend. I thought they got off the line really well and put a lot of pressure on the opposition, and that did challenge the Warriors.

“The Warriors were challenged with the fact that they had to move the ball quicker, and they had to get through their hands quicker. I just think that desperation and that line speed, you know, corresponds with the attack that they've got.

“I just think that they're a very, very dangerous team and now they've got the week off.”

The Dolphins will face either the Roosters or Sharks in a preliminary final at Suncorp Stadium.

SEN League will have live commentary of every NRL Finals match across our radio network and on the SEN app.