Round 15 of the 2025 NRL season has wrapped up, so we’re looking over the results and digging into three big takeaways from the weekend.
Around The NRL
No lead is safe in the NRL this season.
Like the Newcastle Knights in Round 14, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks left the field at halftime to the sound of boo’s from the home crowd. Coach Craig Fitzgibbon didn’t think they’d played poorly enough to be down 18-6 at the break. He was, in the end, proven correct as the Sharks clicked into gear to beat the St George-Illawarra Dragons relatively comfortably 30-18.
Despite welcoming back Tom Trbojevic and retaining Daly Cherry-Evans over the State of Origin period, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles fell 28-8 to the Gold Coast Titans. To make matters worse, Haumole Olakau’atu left the field with what looks like a serious elbow injury.
Sea Eagles indicate that Haumole Olakau’atu suffered a dislocated shoulder – textbook mechanism landing on outstretched arm.
General recovery guide:
– minimal structural damage/joint stable: trial rehab for 3-6 weeks
– significant damage/joint unstable: reco surgery & 3+ months pic.twitter.com/9HYX78iurt— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 13, 2025
The home fans turned out again at McDonald Jones Stadium, but the Newcastle Knights couldn’t send them out as winners against the Sydney Roosters. There will be a lot of questions around the final try; the put-down rule seems to change every week depending on who is in the Bunker. However, the Chooks ended up as the beneficiaries to win 12-8.
“They said there was no separation but I’ve never seen someone control a ball with their forearm before.” – Dane Gagai
Chaos struck the North Queensland Cowboys before kickoff with Jason Taumalolo ruled out during the warm up. It didn’t get any easier for Todd Payten when first, Scott Drinkwater left the field for an HIA with Thomas Duffy soon to follow. Both returned, but in the time without two spine players, the Dolphins had built a 16-0 lead.
There were excuses for the Cowboys to not be at their best, but nothing excuses the 58-4 hammering they suffered in front of their home fans.
Watch all the highlights as the Cowboys take on the Dolphins in Round 15!#NRLCowboysDolphins pic.twitter.com/y283xScxTl
— NRL (@NRL) June 14, 2025
A lightening delay only delayed the inevitable on Sunday night. Already 18-0 in front and dominant in yardage, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs held on to beat the South Sydney Rabbitohs 24-18. It’s a scoreline that flatters the Rabbitohs who will no doubt be questioning the influence of their spine and the lack of tough questions being asked of the defence when attacking the line.
3 Takeaways From Round 15
Dolphins Dominating
The Dolphins have scored 156 points in their last three games for an incredible +138 for and against. They’ve turned their 2025 season around to have taken their place in the Top 8.
Kristian Woolf has the Dolphins firing on both sides of the ball. Isaiya Katoa is getting better by the week with the 21-year-old again influential in this one. He only finished with two try assists, but he had a hand in number of tries on the edges on the back of his work through the middle.
Isaiya Katoa is a talent! 👏#NRLCowboysDolphins pic.twitter.com/rZHq9BhLng
— NRL (@NRL) June 14, 2025
The Dolphins are using their dominance with the ball to stay in command defensively. Despite the turnover of players on the edges, the systems are holding up.
Concerns following their 0-4 start to the season have been extinguished. The more this group plays together, and understand how to play around Katoa, the better they will get. If they can keep hold of their form defensively, the Top 4 might not be so far in front after all.
The Bulldogs Conundrum
It’s rare for a team sitting at the top of the NRL ladder to have so many questions asked of them halfway through the season. While it could be considered a good headache to have right now, it’s unlikely to be seen as such if there isn’t clarity long before the finals. The premiership window is open for the Bulldogs in 2025; who will be there to open it?
Lachlan Galvin will, more than likely, end the season in the starting lineup. Why else would the club have pushed for an early release and the chaos that they’ll have known would come with it?
Does that push Toby Sexton out of the side, or Matt Burton out wider?
While the players are all saying the right things at the moment, Reed Mahoney, who is also rumored to be one of the players making way for Galvin, isn’t entirely on board with Sexton missing out.
“He took us to a finals last year, we’re sitting first at the moment. But sorta just unfortunately … that’s not my cup of tea to worry about, which is good, so I’ll keep going about my own business.”
Sexton and Galvin combined well together in Round 15, but you’d expect that given their style of play. Sexton has been at his best since joining the Bulldogs by taking on the ball-playing role from first receiver and straitening the attack. Galvin, on the other hand, looked his best for the Tigers when his off-the-cuff plays came off. They make for a promising partnership on paper.
Galvin and Burton? Not so much.
There is no clear game manager of the two. Galvin might be poised to wear the #7 jersey, but he’s yet to prove himself as a half who can organise a team and play them to points. His last tackle options weren’t always the best alongside Jarome Luai at the West Tigers.
With Burton after the bye back for Round 17, all eyes will be on Cameron Ciraldo’s team list.
State of Origin – Game 2
What’s State of Origin without some pre-game chaos?
It started with the team list announcement as Billy Slater dropped Queensland Maroons captain Daly Cherry-Evans for Tom Dearden. Later in the week, the New South Wales Blues lost Mitchell Moses and recalled Jarome Luai.
Of the two big swaps, Queensland look the most likely to see the biggest change. Dearden adds different element to the Queensland attack. Where Cherry-Evans can be somewhat erratic in his creativity, Dearden is direct. He will look to engage the middle of his field and use his running game to create opportunities for others out wide.
The Maroons won’t beat the Blues through the middle. Not in both of the remaining games, at least. Dearden allows them to play to their strengths on the edges where Slater can cook up one-on-one situations. It’s not a game for Queensland teams of the past where they can rely on the toughness of their pack to stay in the game to win it late. They need to take it from the Blues. Especially at a neutral venue where they’ve struggled for success in the past.