Sidelined as he recovers from a pectoral tear, Dolphins halfback Sean O’Sullivan said his rehab was going well, and he had full faith his side was in good hands in the halves while he makes his recovery.
Youngster Isaiya Katoa and the versatile Kodi Nikorima will steer the ship in Sunday's Queensland derby against the Titans for just the third time this season, with the experienced Anthony Milford another of the Dolphins halves in the casualty ward, recovering from a hamstring injury.
“I think Katoa is going really well, obviously he's super young and he's got a lot to learn and every single week he is going to learn something different,” O’Sullivan said on Wednesday.
“Every single game brings a different kind of challenge and sometimes you have got to learn through going through some really good experiences, but you also have got to learn sometimes by going through some bad ones too.
“He's got an awesome head on his shoulders and he's just putting one step in front of the other and I think it's important that a lot of the older boys are there helping him out.
“But he's going really well and he knows that it's a process and it's a journey and you don't become the player that you want to overnight, and he's dedicated to the cause.”
With 36 career appearances compared to Katoa’s six, O’Sullivan – who suffered a full tendon rupture of his pectoral muscle in the Round 4 loss to the Broncos – was happy to provide plenty of advice not only to his rookie teammate, but all the players in the squad looking to work on their game.
“I was a little bit MIA for the first couple of weeks (after being injured) as I was in hospital and kind of had my feet up, but definitely now that I've been back around the club, I think all the boys know not only as halves, but if anyone's got any questions with anything, I'm pretty open, I love football so I can help out anyone,” O’Sullivan said.
“I'm obviously always giving tips to our halves and just picking their brains and seeing what they're thinking that certain time.
“We went through last week's game and we went through some points and where we thought we could get better and where we actually did really well.
“We're just going to start for an 80-minute performance this week and I know that Kodi and Issy will be definitely ready to go and they'll take some valuable lessons from last week and they'll implement it for this week's game.”
Match: Dolphins v Titans
Round 8 -
home Team
Dolphins
5th Position
away Team
Titans
12th Position
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Another young player fans will be keen to see this weekend will be Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, who extended his current deal out to a five-year contract with the Dolphins.
On fire in the opening rounds where he has scored eight tries in seven games, talk has begun to circulate that the exciting fullback may be in line for a State of Origin recall with the Queensland Maroons.
“Hamiso’s going great, he's had some performances where he's been unbelievable for us,” O’Sullivan said.
“But one thing I know about Hamiso is, he won't be too worried about something that's happening in six weeks’ time, he is just going to keep trying to get better every single day and he's going to have that growth mindset and that's the most important thing for him.
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“We still haven't seen what he can truly, fully do; like some of the stuff that he can do at training, he's honestly unbelievable.
“His pace, he's unbelievable. He's also his ball playing is he's really good too.
“I think we're going to see a little bit more of that every single week. But I know that he would obviously love to play there, but that's up to the coach and that's obviously up to him too, with how he's going to go over the next couple of weeks, but he'll be ready for it.”
