Hammer hat-trick sinks Panthers as Dolphins dominate at Suncorp

Penrith’s 2025 NRL season lurched into full-blown crisis mode on Thursday night as the reigning premiers suffered a fifth straight defeat, going down 30-12 to the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium.

The defending champs, who were tipped as a $1.42 favourite with online bookmakers, have now slumped to 1-5 — a record no team has ever recovered from to win the premiership in the NRL.

Coach Ivan Cleary conceded the side was “obviously not playing well enough. Certainly not well enough for long enough.”

The star of the show was Dolphins fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, who lit up the contest with a stunning hat-trick, including an 80-metre runaway try in the final seconds.

His pace, support play and desperation in defence — including two try-saving tackles — left coach Kristian Woolf beaming.

“Those are tries only Hammer can score,” Woolf said.

“He’s playing with a smile on his face, with confidence, and that’s what we want.”

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While the Dolphins have now won two on the trot after a horror start to 2025, Penrith’s dynasty suddenly looks shaky.

Their left-edge defence — labelled “paper thin” by Greg Alexander — was exploited ruthlessly, and the spine combination continued to shift, with Blaize Talagi handed his first NRL start at five-eighth.

Cleary admitted Penrith’s defensive frailties were seeping into all aspects of their game.

“We just can’t defend our line early in games — it gives the opposition confidence and probably takes ours away a bit,” he said.

“That’s the concerning bit.”

Despite a brief second-half rally and a bizarre try from Moses Leota after a Dolphins blunder, Penrith were outclassed.

Nathan Cleary had moments of control but also threw a pass into touch — an uncharacteristic blunder emblematic of the team’s woes.

Woolf praised his team’s grit, particularly the forward rotation with Josh Kerr earning raps for his offload that set up a second-half try.

The coach admitted Kerr’s recent form could delay the rugby league club debut of Franklin Pele, despite the former Shark pressing for selection.

The Dolphins skipper Daniel Saifiti lost a captain’s challenge inside the opening minute — and later the in-goal blunder from Jack Bostock that gifted Leota a try was a moment Woolf said the young winger would learn from.

“It’s a big one for him tonight, but the great thing is he gets to learn from it in a win.”

Meanwhile, the Panthers co-captain, Isaah Yeo, said the group wasn’t playing victim, but knew the turnaround had to start now.

“There’s no point being a victim to it. You pull your shoulders back, look it head on… but I’ve certainly got the belief that when we do turn it around, we can go on a run.”

Penrith face the Roosters next week in a must-win clash, with Cleary confirming there’s “a lot of work to do” if they’re to salvage anything from this season.

The Dolphins, by contrast, are rising fast — and if Hammer’s flying form is anything to go by, they might just be warming up.

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