A Dolphins win this weekend could see star centre Herbie Farnworth make a shock early return from injury.
The centre was set to be racing against the clock if his side made the first week of the finals as he recovered from a hamstring injury suffered against the New Zealand Warriors in Round 22.
The injury saw Farnworth go down with a classic ‘sniper’ style hamstring problem, running on his own when he pulled up.
After being assisted from the field and sent for scans, the injury was revealed as one that would be bad enough to end his regular season, but now Channel 9’s Andrew Jackson has revealed he will play in Round 27 against the Canberra Raiders at home if the Dolphins are in finals contention.
“If they are still in finals contention, Herbie will play that game,” Jackson said on Nine’s Wide World of Sports.
The game would likely be the biggest in the Dolphins’ history if things go their way this weekend, with the club not yet qualifying for the top eight since joining the competition in the 2023 season.
As it stands, the Dolphins are two points shy of the Sydney Roosters, who play the Melbourne Storm this weekend.
While they will need the Roosters to lose at least one of their remaining games, the Dolphins have the best for and against of the three teams in the mix for eighth spot, so they could be in the driver’s seat for a finals berth if the tri-colours come up short this weekend.
The Manly Sea Eagles are the other team in the mix for eighth spot, but their for and against likely means they’ll need the Roosters to lose both of their games, and the Dolphins at least one.
Farnworth, despite his injury, is still likely to be in contention for the Dally M Centre of the Year award, given his excellent performances for a Dolphins side who have scored the second-highest number of points in the competition, but also has the sixth-worst defensive record.
They have been awful on that side of the park since Farnworth went down with injury, and speaking on QLDER, Darren Lockyer revealed he thinks Farnworth being out and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow moving to the centres has a lot to do with it.
“It wasn’t that long ago we were talking about how many points they’re scoring, and now it’s completely flipped,” Lockyer said.
“I think Herbie Farnworth missing and then Hammer [Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow] having to go to the centres, there’s something since all of those changes that’s missing.”
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