EXCLUSIVE: Dolphins faint finals hopes revived by Herbie news after club's fortunes 'completely flipped'

The absence of Herbie Farnworth has become the straw that broke the camel's back for the Dolphins - but there could still be a glimmer of hope for their finals chances.

Less than a month ago, it looked like the Redcliffe-based outfit were poised to finish inside the top-eight for the first time in their short existence in the NRL.

Massive wins over the Bulldogs, Dragons, Cowboys and Rabbitohs prior to their round 21 bye saw Kristian Woolf's men sitting pretty and with an incredible points differential.

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But the Dolphins' season was turned on its head on August 1 when arguably their best player in Farnworth went down with a hamstring injury against the Warriors.

The strike centre raced away from inside his own half, but copped an old-fashioned sniper job and immediately clutched at the back of his leg.

Farnworth limped off the field with the assistance of Dolphins trainers and while his teammates fought valiantly to produce an epic 20-18 win from the final play of the game, what has happened since that night has been an absolute disaster.

Across a three-week span, the Dolphins have conceded a whopping 160 points, with their dismal performances against the Roosters and Sea Eagles - the other two teams battling for eighth spot - putting a major dent in their post-season ambitions.

It places the Dolphins in a precarious position with two rounds remaining in the regular season, where they will need to beat both the Titans and Raiders to be any hope of making the finals in Woolf's first season as head coach.

"It wasn't that long ago we were talking about how many points they're scoring and now it's completely flipped," Darren Lockyer said on Wide World of Sports' QLDER.

"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.

"Herbie I know only plays in the centres, but he brings a lot of energy and experience to them and then moving Hammer from his position, where he scores tries but he saves them too - they've had to readjust their lineup and that's had a massive impact."

Farnworth's setback is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the casualty ward that the Dolphins have had to contend with over the course of the campaign.

Daniel Saifiti, Max Plath, Jack Bostock and Tom Gilbert all suffered season-ending blows at different stages of the year, while the likes of Kodi Nikorima and Jeremy Marshall-King have been in and out of the side, leading to instability in the spine.

Tom Flegler - one of the club's higher-paid players - has spent the entire year out with a long-term shoulder injury that he suffered early in the 2024 season.

Despite having all of those players out, the Dolphins managed to compete with and beat some quality opposition through their attitude without the ball.

"One of the real features of their game mid-season was their defence, in terms of their physicality," Lockyer explained.

"They were bashing teams into submission and then they'd score points off the back of that and I think they've lost that intensity defensively.

"I'm predicting they will bring that back this week, given they will be embarrassed with what happened down in Manly."

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While it's still going to be a tough task, there is reason to believe the Dolphins can still clinch eighth position on the table with two-straight wins.

Gold Coast are stranded at the bottom of the ladder and if the Dolphins are fair dinkum about featuring in the finals, the round 26 game is one they should be winning.

But perhaps more important to their finals hopes is the fact that according to 9News Brisbane reporter Adam Jackson, Farnworth could be on track for a round 27 return against Canberra - and with the Raiders potentially locking up the minor premiership before then, it could see Ricky Stuart rest a whole bunch of his players for the fixture.

"If they are still in finals contention, Herbie will play that game," Jackson said.

Manly are equal with the Dolphins on 26 points with two rounds to go, while the Chooks sit on 28 points but have a tough tricky fortnight ahead of them.

A trip to Melbourne without star halfback Sam Walker, followed up by a clash with arch-rivals South Sydney, means there is no guarantee the Tricolours will hold onto their spot.

All three teams have it all to play for and it should make for some must-watch football.