Wayne Bennett's decision to move Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to the centres left many within the rugby league scratching their head - but the Dolphins coach is more than happy with the call despite Saturday night's loss.
The 21-year-old has been a revelation in the No.1 jumper this year for the NRL's newest franchise, scoring 14 tries in as many games and averaging 150 run metres per game.
Tabuai-Fidow has featured in both State of Origin games for Queensland this year in the centres, but his role in club land was seemingly at the back.
However, in the lead-up to the side's 24-16 loss to local rivals the Broncos at The Gabba, the legendary coach opted to shuffle things around, moving 'The Hammer' out wide and slotting Kodi Nikorima in at fullback.
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Both men had strong performances as a whole despite the result, with Bennett explaining his decision in the post-game press conference.
“Hamiso is one of the best fullbacks in the game, but we’ve got a problem with our centres at the moment and we had to do something about it," Bennett said.
"He can handle that position and I thought he did a really good job there.
"Kodi is a competent fullback and I don’t think he let us down. He dropped one ball there, but that’s par for the course when you’re playing that position.
"It was our best option on the night and I think we did a fair job in both those positions.
"It was pretty gutsy of them to stay in the game, the way we’d played in the last couple of weeks... I was very pleased with their effort."
Wayne Bennett provides Jeremy Marshall-King injury update
The loss for the Dolphins was compounded by injuries to two of their most important players, as hooker Jeremy Marshall-King struggled with an ongoing shoulder issue and Felise Kaufusi suffered a head knock.
Bennett revealed Marshall-King could be in doubt to line up for the Dolphins next weekend, with the lingering injury a week-to-week and pain management proposition.
“He did [make a difference] but he’s still got a bit of a shoulder problem there," Bennett said.
"I don’t know how long we will have him back for – it looks like it might be ongoing. He’s a wonderful player and we probably got him at about 75 per cent tonight, but we may have to go the rest of the season without him… I’m not sure.
"It’s the same one – these things are about pain, what you can handle and what you can’t handle… we’ll just have to wait and see."
