Dolphins set to sign Adventure Kings as major NRL sponsor on historic deal
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NRL expansion side the Dolphins are set to sign one of the richest sponsorship deals in rugby league history ahead of the 2023 season.

A massive Australian company, which sells outdoor accessories, will be the first major sponsor of the new Dolphins NRL franchise.

The Daily Telegraph has been told negotiations were complete between the Redcliffe-based Dolphins and Adventure Kings in a $5m front-of-jersey deal over three years.

The sponsorship deal, which is to be announced on Wednesday, will be one of the richest in rugby league history. The company may opt to sponsor under another name, 4WD Supacentre.

Officials from the new club were desperate to keep the new sponsor secret until Wednesday’s announcement.

Former Storm and Queensland champion Cam Smith is the official Adventure Kings brand ambassador.

Established in 2012, the company sells products ands equipment for anyone venturing into the great outdoors, including tents, generators, tools, camping gear, fridges, freezers, electrical products, energy packs, solar panels, camping tights, camper trailers and roof racks.

Adventure Kings has stores in NSW, the ACT, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.

The company recently opened another giant store in Toowoomba. Retailers shop for Adventure Kings products at 4WD Supacentres.

NRL management is delighted the new 17th club has already attracted a national sponsor.

It is understood the deal will be worth about $1.25m a year – massive compared to Sydney clubs.

The nine Sydney-based clubs have varying financial contracts for major sponsors but the deals average out to about $950,000 a season.

With entry into the NRL approved and the Dolphin’s sponsorship program in full swing, all attention will be turned to players for the club.

Behind-the-scenes negotiations are intense about luring some of the NRL’s biggest stars to Redcliffe to join the fledgling club from 2023.

Melbourne’s Harry Grant continues to be linked to the Dolphins despite having a contract with the Storm for 2023.

The man who pioneered the South Queensland Crushers’ entry into the national competition believes Redcliffe is far better placed to go the distance in rugby league’s big time.

Former Crushers boss Darryl Van de Velde feels the Dolphins have far fewer obstacles than the significant ones that were in front of the brave – but ultimately doomed – Brisbane-based Crushers.

Van de Velde led the charge for the Crushers to enter the now-defunct Australia Rugby League competition in the 1995 season before the club’s demise in its third and final year in 1997 when the ARL and Super League competitions combined.

Now, the former Redcliffe coach believes the new Dolphins side has what it takes to survive in the national competition.

The Crushers were introduced with three other clubs, the North Queensland Cowboys, Auckland Warriors and Western Reds, which was a challenge from the outset when trying to nab marquee players.

“There are massive challenges ahead in relation to starting from scratch,” Van de Velde said.

“They do have a team in the Intrust Super Cup but the difference is we (the Crushers) had to start from virtually nowhere and recruit players from scratch. It was a little bit different for us because they brought in four teams in the one year so we had three other teams competing in the same market.

“What the original ARL clubs did was sign their players beyond that period so we couldn’t sign them, so we had the players who were left over.

“Redcliffe are in a far better position than we were.

“It’s important they start really positive and they have a pretty competitive team. They are in a position to do that because they have about 16 months to go.”

The new Redcliffe-based club will enter the NRL in the 2023 season after winning the expansion bid last week, staving off competition from the Firehawks and the Jets.

The Dolphins are well placed to survive through more than $70m worth of assets and $20m in cash reserves.

Money men: Dolphins shocked by sponsor deluge

By Robert Craddock

The big sponsorship offers are already rolling in for the Dolphins who have been swamped by corporate support for their NRL entry.

The Dolphins are just days away from naming their major sponsor for their 2023 entry to the NRL in a deal clinched before they were announced as the competition’s 17th team last week.

But club officials have also been taken aback by the unexpected deluge of corporate interest which has followed their highly-publicised entrance to the big league.

“We have been bowled over by the corporate side,’’ Dolphins general manager Terry Reader told News Corp.

“We already had a number of agreements in place with our submission, but we have been amazed by the interest we have had from a number of big companies who want to be part of the club.’’

Buoyed by the imminent signing of coach Wayne Bennett, the Dolphins stand to benefit from the “unlocking’’ of the Brisbane NRL sponsorship market which had previously been dominated by the Broncos.

Where the Broncos would often sign exclusive sponsorships with one company in a particular sector, there is now greater scope for rival firms to gain an entry to the local NRL market.

When the South Queensland Crushers emerged in 1995, they intentionally courted and signed rivals to Broncos brands – Fourex Gold to the Broncos’ Power Brewing and Qantas Airlines to the Broncos’ Ansett.

“We have a number of backers who are not involved in rugby league already and that will mean we are helping to grow the game and will not cannibalise the current sides,’’ Reader said.

Reader made no apologies for the club’s decision to eliminate Redcliffe from its name and simply settle for the Dolphins.

He said the Redcliffe Dolphins would always exist in the second-tier Queensland Cup, but the Dolphins had a massive opportunity to have broader appeal.

“We will honour or past but this is about the future. When players run out at Moreton Daily Stadium they see a sign saying ‘Always a Dolphin’ and we will always be the Dolphins.

“People talk about the Bulldogs, the Raiders and the Roosters and they don’t usually mention the geographic region. That is how they are often referenced today.’’

The Dolphins are keen to honour Redcliffe’s most famous former player, Arthur Beetson, in a club-launching first-round match with the Roosters that would be played for the Beetson Cup.

They have already spoken to the Roosters about the concept, though there is also a feeling that the new club could be launched with a local derby against the Broncos.

Beetson had an iconic presence with the Dolphins as the player of the year in the club’s first premiership year in 1965, and returned to lead them to a heartbreaking grand final loss in 1981.