'Bit of a mystery': Kristian Woolf rejects calls to make changes after 52-18 hammering to Manly
Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said he won't drop players after the 52-18 thrashing to Manly on Thursday night, but said his side needed to "make changes."
The Dolphins could not hold onto the ball with their completion rate at 64 per cent. They lost the penalty count 9-3, missed 37 tackles and made 14 errors.
Additionally, forwards Morgan Knowles was sin-binned and put on report as was Thomas Flegler and Connelly Lemuelu.
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Manly have racked up some big scores against the Dolphins, with Thursday night being the third time in four meetings they have scored more than 50.
So far in 2026, the Dolphins have conceded 142 points in five games.
"It is a bit of a mystery," Woolf said post-match. "I thought our preparation was good.
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"I didn't get any feels before the game. We created opportunities early in the game but we became ill-disciplined as they game went on. It just wasn't good enough."
Woolf said he would have to "make changes" and was asked if that meant bringing in new players.
Woolf said the performance was a 'mystery'. Nine
"No, we have to improve what we are doing," he said.
"We have to be more disciplined in how we want to play that is for sure."
Dolphins co-captain Tom Gilbert said to lose in such a fashion at home is unacceptable and players needed to address their mental approach.
"It is disappointing, more so because it was a big occasion for us," Gilbert said.
"We prepared really well and wanted to come here and do a good job for our fans and our people.
"We walk off the field and we were only in it for the first 10 minutes. We buckled under pressure."
The Sea Eagles celebrated with their new coach. Nine
He added: "Moving forward you have got to stick together and you have got to have accountability as an individual and a group to come back stronger.
"This can define us in a really good way, in terms of not letting it happen again.
"There are lessons but you have to question our attitudes and the way we performed. You have got to draw a line in the sand. We can't let that happen again."
The Dolphins have the bye next round before facing competition leaders Penrith in Darwin, the Warriors in Wellington and Melbourne at Suncorp Stadium.
"I did not see this coming at all," Johnathan Thurston said on Nine.
"Kristian Woolf has got a lot of work to do. They had 116 more tackles in the first half than what Manly did and it was due to all the errors they made and the ruck infringements and ill-discipline.
"It was a very poor performance by the Dolphins. Going into a bye, you want to throw all your energy into that match because it's like a four-point game and they have been completely obliterated and embarrassed in front of their home fans."
