Injury crisis at the Dolphins before the Broncos derby

The Dolphins are battling an injury crisis ahead of their most important game of the season against derby rivals Brisbane.

Prop Tevita Pangai Jnr (hamstring) missed last week's 48-6 loss to Melbourne, did not train on Tuesday and is currently recovering from his injury.

Hooker Max Plath (calf) and center Ray Stone (neck) are both fighting against time. Captain Jesse Bromwich and link Kodi Nikorima will both miss Saturday night's game with concussions.

The Dolphins and Broncos, both on 26 points, are two points behind eighth-placed St. George Illawarra and will be looking for two wins in the final rounds to reach the final.

Dolphins prop Mark Nicholls admitted it is not yet known which team will be on the field, but the captain's run on Friday will prove crucial.

“We had a meeting this morning and said we don't really know who's going to play and who's not,” Nicholls said.

“We were already without Kodi and Jesse. We know how important this game is for us. It's a matter of life and death, the same goes for the Broncos, and our season is on the line.”

“We just have to wait until Friday to see which team gets eliminated. It's not ideal, but if we win, things will be better.”

The Dolphins have never beaten Brisbane in their history.

“You go into every game wanting to win. The Broncos are a big club and this is only our second year in the competition,” said Nicholls.

“At the moment they are leading 3-0 and personally I would just like to beat them. At the 'Battle of Brisbane' we will have 50,000 fans and hopefully they are all Dolphins fans and we can get a win for them.

“We now know that we have to win two games to get to the final. If we manage to win these two games, it will be a good warm-up (for the final) for us.”

The Dolphins have lost five of their last six games and have slipped out of the top eight after seemingly securing a place in the finals two months ago.

Fading out the game in the second half remains a problem.

“We had injuries. That happens at every club, but our performances were just not consistent,” said Nicholls.

“We played really well at times and kept up with some of the best teams, but we also suffered some close losses that hurt us.”