EXCLUSIVE: Broncos great Sam Thaiday says 'woeful' Dolphins should try to bring Ben Te'o back
Former Broncos assistant Ben Te'o has been tipped to return to the Dolphins as pressure begins to mount on coach Kristian Woolf.
In the wake of the Dolphins' shock 52-18 pummelling by the Sea Eagles at Redcliffe a week ago, Broncos legend Sam Thaiday said Te'o could be the answer to the club's defensive struggles.
Despite finishing ninth last season, the Dolphins were the best attacking team in the competition with 721 points - 41 points more than the Broncos who were the next best club and went on to win the premiership.
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Crucially, they conceded 596 points to be 125 in the good on for-and-against. The Broncos conceded 508 to be 172 points to the good on for-and-against.
Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf ahead of his side's clash with the Manly Sea Eagles. NRL Images
Through the first five rounds this season, the 'Phins have scored 116 points and leaked 142. The ladder-leading Panthers are a ridiculous 150 points in the black after five rounds.
"I could make a big call right here, right now. I don't know what conversations (Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters) has had with Ben Te'o, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him back at the Dolphins," Thaiday said on Wide World of Sports' QLDer.
"Where they are lacking and where they have been lacking is defence.
"They scored 18 points like that at the end of the match - they looked flashy, it looked great, it looked brilliant. There's no doubt they can attack. We saw that last year - they were the best attacking team in the NRL.
Ben Te'o late in his playing career. NRL Imagery
"Where they need to tighten the screws is defence. So a great defensive coach in Ben Te'o, might be back there at some point."
Te'o coached the Dolphins' Queensland Cup side before joining the Broncos as an assistant.
When news broke Te'o had departed Red Hill, Woolf was open to luring him back. The two had also previously worked together at the Broncos when Te'o was playing and Woolf was an assistant coach.
Thaiday said watching the Dolphins' performance against the Sea Eagles was akin to "watching a bunch of young kids who were out of their depth" who "threw all their toys out of the cot".
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"Phins sideways … geez Louise I didn't expect that," he said.
"The measuring stick for the Dolphins this season is to make finals footy. That's the measure of success.
"They've got a really great squad there, and I thought they had turned a corner in that game against the Sharks (won 38-10) - it was a really measured game. Even against the Broncos (lost 26-12) they were right in it - the scoreline didn't reflect how they played.
"But this was absolutely woeful, and at their spiritual home. (Fans) would have been disappointed with how their team showed up."
The Dolphins are currently 13th on the ladder. They have a week off to regroup, but then take on the Panthers in Darwin.
Their draw barely gets better after that - they then travel to Wellington to take on the Warriors, before hosting the Storm and Bulldogs at home.
