The honeymoon period is well and truly over for Wayne Bennett and the Dolphins as they slumped to the biggest defeat in their short history when they were blown off the park 58-18 by Manly.
From the first whistle, it appeared as if the match was little more than a training run for the slick Sea Eagles with the visitors crumbling in the face of the week-to-week grind of the NRL.
Wayne Bennett's Dolphins thumped as Tom Trbojevic and Reuben Garrick shine
The Dolphins’ starting side has been ravaged recently with Felise Kaufusi, Jarrod Wallace and Anthony Milford sitting on the sidelines serving suspensions, while the likes of Tom Gilbert and Sean O’Sullivan have also been missing through injury.
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Their experience was sadly lacking as Manly rolled through the middle of a lightweight pack early on to establish a 20-point lead after barely a quarter of the match had been played.
The damage was already done before the Dolphins managed to get on the scoreboard themselves through Jamayne Isaako.
Although his try offered a brief reprieve as Manly responded in kind with another glut of tries in the second half.
The Dolphins were simply unable to summon any of their renowned fight or showcase an ability to stick in the contest.
On a historic night for the winger turned centre, Reuben Garrick notched 30 points while Tom Trbojevic, Jason Saab and Tolutau Koula all grabbed doubles during the battering.
“We didn’t play well – it isn’t difficult to work that one out,” Bennet said.
“We’ve been through so much and we’ve handled so much so well, so I didn’t expect that.”
In the lead up to the match, the veteran coach opened up about how he’d been left confused by Manly being able to get Trbojevic passed through concussion protocols in order to play despite him suffering a head knock in the Origin opener.
But his team seemed equally as confused when attempting to deal with the fullback as he sliced through them at will.
“Look, I don’t think there is a team in the comp who doesn’t have a bad day, or a bad game and we had ours tonight,” Bennett said.
The Dolphins have conceded 88 points in two consecutive losses and the early optimism around their unbeaten start to the season has given way to the harsh reality of the competition.
The sweet relief of the week off in Round 16 comes at exactly the right time for the club to rest and recover before they will have to attempt to get back on track in the second half of the campaign.
“We do need the bye,” Bennett admitted. “I don’t think there is much doubt about that.”
Although when they do return, they face a season-defining month with matches against Parramatta, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Penrith to contend with.
“We need to regroup right now and the week off will help us do that,” Bennett continued.
“If it’s just one bad night…we’ve just got to make sure we don’t have another one of these.
“We’ll pull ourselves back together again and re-focus – play a lot better.”
The final insult of an ugly night for the new franchise coming in the final few seconds of the post-match press conference with the Sea Eagles’ victory song blasted through the walls of the changing rooms as the victors celebrated the highest points total scored on the Northern Beaches for 30 years.
