Kristian Woolf has highlighted the performance of a Dolphins young gun who made his debut last round as two more members of the club's squad have joined their growing injury list.

A late inclusion into the line-up last week, Tevita Naufahu made his NRL debut against the Cronulla Sharks and is one of the next breed of players coming through the club's ranks.

Spending the first part of the year in the QLD Cup with the Central Queensland Capras, Naufahu made six tackle busts, one line-break and ran for 162 metres last Friday evening.

However, he unfortunately made a fatal error in the game's closing moments, dropping the ball in mid-air just before the Sharks crossed the line, thereby cementing their victory.

Despite the error, Woolf had plenty of praise for the youngster and stated that he will have plenty more opportunities in first grade in the coming seasons.

"I thought he had a really good game," Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said.

"I thought he looked like a first-grader, and he's going to play plenty more first-grade for us.

"It was an unfortunate error, and he is probably a little bit disappointed with that as well, but outside of that, I thought he had a really good game of footy."

NRL Rd 19 – Sharks v Dolphins
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 11: Tevita Naufahu of the Dolphins is tackled during the round 19 NRL match between Cronulla Sharks and Dolphins at Sharks Stadium, on July 11, 2025, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

The comments from Woolf on Naufahu come as the club confirmed that Kulikefu Finefeuiaki (thumb) and Mark Nicholls (concussion) have joined the club's injury list and will not play against the North Queensland Cowboys on Thursday.

Although he finished the match last week against the Cronulla Sharks, Finefeuiaki will undergo surgery on his thumb after scans revealed a fracture, and he is expected to be out for anywhere between four and six weeks.

Meanwhile, Nicholls (concussion) will return for their match against the New Zealand Warriors after the bye due to the NRL's mandatory 11-day stand-down concussion protocols.

Dolphins Casualty Ward