- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
They’re here! It feels like a lifetime ago that the Dolphins were announced as the newest franchise entering the NRL. Now they have built their squad, “trained the house down” and are ready to show the rest of the competition what they can do.
But, what actually is that? We know they have older heads like Storm trio Jesse Bromwich, Kenny Bromwich and Felise Kaufusi, Rabbitohs veteran Mark Nicholls and Kiwi Kodi Nikorima. Throw in some young guns like ex-Cowboys Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Tom Gilbert, Nathan Cleary’s understudy Sean O’Sullivan along with a bit of Marshall magic in the form of Jeremy Marshall-King, and the team sheet is solid.
And then, of course, there’s you-know-who. Mr Supercoach himself, Wayne Bennett. We have missed the theatre of his press conferences.
It all sounds good on paper. But bringing a lot of talent together doesn’t always guarantee success.
When the Cowboys entered the competition in 1995, they finished the year with the wooden spoon. The Warriors in the same season came 10th. In 1998 the Storm were third in their first season when they were fortunate enough to pick up a bunch of recruits from defunct Super League clubs.
It’s incredibly hard for a new team to achieve instant success and the odds are stacked against the Dolphins but it’s going to be fun to watch.
Wayne. James. Bennett. Love him or loathe him, he is the BIGGEST key to the Dolphins’ success.
At 412 years old, he’s been around forever. Coaching 888 club games, 25 Origin matches, and currently holds the peerless record for the seven premierships along with the record for coaching a club for the most number of seasons (Broncos, 24 years.) He seems to have the gist of what to do.
He already has links with so many of his players already – he coached Nicholls at Souths; Nikorima, Herman Ese’ese, Jarrod Wallace, Anthony Milford and Jamayne Isaako at the Broncos; while Kaufusi, Edrick Lee and Brenko Lee were all in the Maroons’ Origin camp with Bennett in 2020.
Add in the likes of Anthony Milford, Sean O’Sullivan, Ray Stone and Euan Aitken – they’re not exactly a team of nuffies. Plus they will unearth young guns that will no doubt turn into superstars under Bennett – there is huge potential at Redcliffe.
Moving past the team, they have a great foundation. They are not a “new” club, they are new to the competition. Administration, funding and everything that goes into running a club are already there. Add on to that existing fans, as well as new fans that either haven’t ever followed a club or hate the Broncos – they won’t be short of support.
The Dolphins have a slim chance of playing finals footy in their first year but building towards the playoffs over their first few years is the key.
Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett talks to his players during training. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
The newbies certainly have a tough hill to climb.
Let’s start with an obvious one – no match history. Sorry, one trial where hardly any of the big names (yes, they have some) played. They may have a bunch of senior players ready to lead the way, young guns chomping at the bit to prove their worth, and the entire squad can be ‘training the house down’ all they like in the off-season, but nothing compares to actually being out on the field together as a team against real opponents.
That also leads to combinations. Forming bonds where you know exactly what your partner is going to do before they even know. Just worrying about what you have to do because you trust your teammate to fulfil their role perfectly. This is another area that takes time to grow and needs repetition in order to work. They will be a bit clunky for quite a while.
Then there is time – there is none of that left. When the club was given the green light it felt like forever until they would be playing, and as the months rolled on it didn’t even look like Bennett was going to have enough players to fill his squad. It’s full steam ahead now, and as excited and pumped as the team may be to get the season underway, if they were given a bit more time before it got serious they would take it.
Then we come to the missing magical marquee signing. Will it prove as important as everyone has made it out to be? Does every club really need a Cameron Munster, Nathan Cleary, Ben Hunt or Payne Haas in the ranks?
We are about to find out.
The Dolphins will begin the season on the road, taking on the Roosters in Round 1 at Allianz Stadium. They will get their first taste of playing at home in Round 2 against the Raiders.
They can breathe a little easy knowing they will face the big guys in the Panthers, Rabbitohs, Eels, Sharks and Storm just the one, but do will take on the rest of the Queensland sides twice.
They will 14 games with a seven-day or more turnaround, and their byes fall in Rounds 11, 16 and 21.
Out from the shadows of Cleary and into the spotlight. O’Sullivan is ready to show everyone exactly what he can do on a regular basis.
Heading into his tenth season in the NRL, Nicholls is a natural leader and a complete workhorse. Bennett knew from coaching him at Souths that the veteran forward was a must for the new franchise.
Yep, package deal. Jesse and Kenny were huge gets for the new club. Cult favourites at the Storm, tough as nails, and lead from the front. Jesse especially, as he will also lead the Dolphins as captain.
So much talent surrounded by even more controversy. Bennett has thrown Milford a lifeline, and he better repay the faith in spades.
This young gun hooker from the Wynnum Seagulls was one of the first signatures Bennett secured, He has a knack for seeing greatness in players, so I’m looking forward to seeing Graham getting his shot at first grade.
Bennett is only there for the short term before handing the clipboard over to Kristian Woolf, so he has no stress on his plate.
There are no expectations here – Play Up has them at $67. Dead last.
Call me crazy, but they can avoid being the cellar dwellers many predict and rise as high as 12th.
Others: Brenko Lee, Herman Ese’ese, Isaiya Katoa, Valynce Te Whare, JJ Collins, Mason Teague, Poasa Faamausili, Robert Jennings, Connelly Lemuelu, Harrison Graham (development), Michael Roberts (development), Jeremiah Simbiken (development), Jack Bostock (development).
| Round | Fixture | Date | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dolphins v Roosters | Saturday, 5th March | 4:05pm | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| 2 | Dolphins v Raiders | Saturday, 11th March | 5:30pm | Kayo Stadium, Redcliffe |
| 3 | Dolphins v Knights | Friday, 17th March | 6:00pm | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle |
| 4 | Dolphins v Broncos | Friday, 24th March | 8:05pm | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| 5 | Dolphins v Dragons | Saturday 1st April | 5:30pm | WIN Stadium, Wollongong |
| 6 | Dolphins v Cowboys | Friday, 7th April | 8:00pm | Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville |
| 7 | Dolphins v Rabbitohs | Thursday, 13th April | 7:50pm | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| 8 | Dolphins v Titans | Sunday, 23rd April | 2:00pm | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| 9 | Dolphins v Raiders | Saturday, 29th April | 3:00pm | McDonalds Park, Wagga Wagga |
| 10 | Dolphins v Sharks | Saturday, 6th May | 3:00pm | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| 11 | Bye | |||
| 12 | Dolphins v Storm | Saturday, 20th May | 7:35pm | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| 13 | Dolphins v Dragons | Thursday, 25th May | 7:50pm | Kayo Stadium, Redcliffe |
| 14 | Dolphins v Warriors | Saturday, 3rd June | 3:00pm | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland |
| 15 | Dolphins v Sea Eagles | Friday, 9th June | 8:00pm | 4 Pines Park, Sydney |
| 16 | Bye | |||
| 17 | Dolphins v Eels | Saturday, 24th June | 3:00pm | Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast |
| 18 | Dolphins v Broncos | Saturday, 1st July | 7:35pm | The Gabba, Brisbane |
| 19 | Dolphins v Titans | Sunday, 9th July | 4:05pm | Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast |
| 20 | Dolphins v Panthers | Sunday, 16 July | 4:05pm | Kayo Stadium, Redcliffe |
| 21 | Bye | |||
| 22 | Dolphins v Bulldogs | Sunday, 30th July | 2:00pm | Salter Oval, Bundaberg |
| 23 | Dolphins v Knights | Saturday, 5th August | 5:30pm | Optus Stadium, Perth |
| 24 | Dolphins v Roosters | Saturday, 24th August | 7:35pm | Allianz Stadium, Sydney |
| 25 | Dolphins v Tigers | Saturday, 19th August | 3:00pm | CommBank Stadium, Sydney |
| 26 | Dolphins v Cowboys | Friday, 25th August | 8:00pm | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| 27 | Dolphins v Warriors | Saturday, 2 September | 3:00pm | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
To view full NRL draw, click here