The Dolphins are the NRL's 17th club

[DIEHARD]

Dolphins vs Roosters Sunday arvo at Lang Park. Smart to highlight the shared history through Arthur Beetson and name it the Beetson Cup. Tough bloody assignment first up though!

[Hail Sezer]

Karl Oloapu, Deine Mariner and who knows who else...Dolphins aren't messing around when it comes to trying to poach the best young (contracted) talent in SEQ. Getting ugly between them and the Broncos.

[DIEHARD]

Karl Oloapu, Deine Mariner and who knows who else...Dolphins aren't messing around when it comes to trying to poach the best young (contracted) talent in SEQ. Getting ugly between them and the Broncos.

Muahaha. Love it. Just stay off our turf! What is your take on the Dolphins, HS? Say 3-5 years.

It seems that players are reluctant to move clubs in 2022 to a brand new one. They want a chance at Finals footy. Luckily when we started we got Presto, Prince, Bailey, Rogers and more. It's important to have faces of the club. But I think the money and organisation and recruiting will ultimately tell.

[Hail Sezer]

Muahaha. Love it. Just stay off our turf! What is your take on the Dolphins, HS? Say 3-5 years.

It seems that players are reluctant to move clubs in 2022 to a brand new one. They want a chance at Finals footy. Luckily when we started we got Presto, Prince, Bailey, Rogers and more. It's important to have faces of the club. But I think the money and organisation and recruiting will ultimately tell.

You're right but at the same time IMO now is also going to be looked back at their best chance to recruit young, up and coming talent while The Dolphins are shiny, new, exciting and have Bennett. And can offer overs without salary cap pressure. Hence why they're trying to sign every top-tier U18/U20 player in QLD irrespective of contract status.

Once they start playing games and expectations + pressure actually materialise, it'll change how they're perceived and that'll influence their recruitment at all levels. Which can go either way.

I'm really not sure where they'll go in the next 3-5 years mate but it's hard to feel too optimistic when looking at their current roster. Long way to go.

[DIEHARD]

Filmmaker reveals how he convinced Wayne Bennett to star in Stan documentary series, Dawn of the Dolphins
https://www.couriermail.com.au/

A filmmaker who spent 18 months documenting the formation of the Redcliffe Dolphins for a new Stan series has detailed the six-month struggle to win Wayne Bennett over.

Documentary maker Nick Piper pinched himself when Wayne Bennett agreed to let him record the press conference when the supercoach was first announced as Redcliffe Dolphins’ inaugural coach in 2021.

Piper, who is head of local production company Onion TV, had already pitched the idea of documentary series, Dawn of the Dolphins, about the formation of Queensland’s new NRL Club to eager chief executive Terry Reader, but admits “things changed overnight as soon as Wayne Bennett signed as coach”.

Buoyed after his first day of filming Bennett, Piper returned the following day, microphone in hand, ready to continue the production, when the notoriously private coach replied, ‘no, your time’s up’.

Getting Bennett on side became a massive hurdle and Piper spent six months “hiding behind pot plants” and “not being in his eye line” in his attempt to do so, taking the approach that he would be the only person filming and producing the series, and the only person interacting with Bennett.

Piper had been filming for half a year before striking the deal with Stan and has been developing the three-part series, which will drop on the streaming service in March, for more than 18 months.

“We got access to a guy who is very difficult to crack,” Piper said. “The opening 60 to 90 seconds is Wayne admitting his insecurities in and around being himself in front of a camera and being himself in front of people, and I think that admission makes a clear statement at the beginning of the documentary.”

“The conduit here was Terry Reader. Terry knew from day one the value of a project like this. He’s also been able to communicate with Wayne to get him used to the idea – I’m talking the tiniest steps to start with that gradually led to the ability to be invisible and a lot of the meetings and zoom calls with players.

“I was in almost every room for almost every meeting and I was never shut-out. That doesn’t mean I can use it all, but I don’t think it was access anyone could have got.”

While the Dolphins didn’t have any creative control over the three-episode series, Piper said with a shooting ratio of 100 hours to one, most of the content will end up on the cutting room floor.

Among the influential moments captured was an initial zoom call with would-be captain Jesse Bromwich in late 2021.

“Jesse came on the line and they were talking and Jesse said goodbye, and the laptop closed, and Wayne turned to Terry and just said, ‘there’s our club captain, I don’t care what it takes’,” Piper said.

“Jesse is not a loud or vivacious talker, he’s someone who clearly leads by example, and then sort of 12 months later he was named as club captain. That was impactful for me, that he knew at that moment that was going to be his leader and we were there to witness it.”

Bennett got his wish and Bromwich was officially named captain this month.

Wanting to include the pre-season trials and every moment until the start of the 2023 NRL season, Piper is still cutting together Dawn of the Dolphins and will continue doing so until it drops on Stan on March 6.

The Dolphins squad will join the filmmakers at a premiere screening in Brisbane on Monday.

[DIEHARD]

World-class centre secured for 2024. Herbie Farnworth
https://www.dolphinsnrl.com.au/news/...ured-for-2024/

The Dolphins have pulled off a massive coup by signing international centre Herbie Farnworth to a three-year contract.

Farnworth will join the Dolphins for the 2024 season after completing his commitments with the Broncos later this year.

The move should be a familiar one for Farnworth, who has lived in Brisbane since 2017 after relocating from England to chase his NRL dream.

The Dolphins play seven matches each year out of Suncorp Stadium, the home ground they share with Farnworth’s current club.

His signature is a true prize for the Dolphins, who attempted to sign the scintillating back for their debut season of 2023.

But the 23-year-old will now play in red, gold and white until at least the end of the 2026 season.

Dolphins’ chief executive Terry Reader said Farnworth’s signing was a huge coup for the new club, that will make its debut in the NRL in just over a week’s time.

Farnworth stamped himself as a centre of true international class while playing for England at last year’s World Cup.

There is no doubt that Herbie has been on our radar right from the very moment we started recruiting for this club at the end of 2021.

“We made a big play to get him for 2023 and just missed out, so to now secure him on a long-term deal is a huge win for our club.

“Herbie showed what a great player he can be in the NRL for the Broncos last year before injury hampered him.

“To see him bounce back from that biceps injury at the end of last year and demonstrate what a world-class performer he is was amazing.

“We are so excited about what he will do in Dolphins’ colours.”

After playing in the under-20s for the Broncos and graduating to the Queensland Cup, Farnworth made his NRL debut in round 16 of the 2019 season.

He has appeared in 53 NRL matches for the Broncos and played the first of his four Tests for England at the 2022 Rugby League World Cup.

He will join the Dolphins when pre-season training for the 2024 season begins in November.

The Dolphins will continue preparations for their debut NRL season by hosting the Roosters in a celebration of the late Arthur Beetson.

[DIEHARD]

NRL transfer news: Broncos star Tom Flegler set to make call on Dolphins interest
https://www.couriermail.com.au/

Tom Flegler is set to make a call on his Broncos future within days and would have to sacrifice more than $500,000 on the offer from rival bidders including the Dolphins.

Dolphins target Tom Flegler faces sacrificing as much as $600,000 to remain at the Broncos as D-Day arrives for the Brisbane enforcer.

News Corp understands Flegler will make a definitive call on his future over the next 48 hours as Brisbane fight to keep the Queensland Origin bookend at Red Hill in the face of a massive offer from expansion rivals the Dolphins.

It is understood four clubs have expressed interest in the off-contract Flegler, including the Roosters, who are planning for life after front-row hardman Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

Fellow Sydney-based club Manly last year tabled a six-year, $675,000 offer worth $4 million for Flegler, but the Broncos bookend would prefer to remain in Queensland.

Meanwhile, the Roosters have emerged as a contender to land Spencer Leniu from Penrith as they hunt a potential long-term prop option.

That makes the Dolphins the primary threat to the Broncos, who are reeling from the loss of British Test star Herbie Farnworth to Wayne Bennett’s new expansion side and can ill-afford to see another top-liner go from Red Hill to Redcliffe.

The Dolphins’ package is around $800,000 a season and the Broncos, whose offer is less attractive financially, are refusing to get into a bidding war.

Over a four-year term, Flegler stands to make $150,000 more annually by defecting to the Dolphins.

The Dolphins blew Brisbane out of the water with a deal for Farnworth that was in excess of $700,000 a season and they have the cash reserves under the salary cap to do the same with Flegler.

As part of their roster management and succession planning, the Broncos have classified Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan as their two top dogs in the middle and accept they could be outbid by the Dolphins for Flegler.

The 23-year-old Flegler has played 74 games for the Broncos since his NRL debut in 2019 and Dolphins recruitment chief Peter O’Sullivan is a massive fan of the Tully tearaway.

Once likened in style to Broncos prop Shane Webcke, Flegler has battled suspension and form issues at Brisbane and a move to the Dolphins could represent a fresh start for the promising front-rower.

The Dolphins have an ageing pack – props Jesse Bromwich (33), Mark Nicholls (33) and Jarrod Wallace (31) are in their 30s – and Flegler is viewed as the young firebrand who can spearhead the 17th team’s engine room for a decade.

Should Flegler quit the Broncos, Brisbane will turn to the likes of Corey Jensen, Xavier Willison and towering rookie prop Ben Te Kura to support big guns Haas and Carrigan in the midfield.

Jensen signed a two-year upgrade with the Broncos on Friday and the former Cowboys grand-final prop hopes Flegler follows suit.

“I hope some of the other off-contract guys stay here, 100 per cent,” Jensen said.

“Our squad hasn’t changed too much with the personnel we had last year and I do feel we are building something.

“We are a tight knit group of blokes, we have bonded well on the off the field and the more guys we keep here the better because that’s how you build a premiership team.”

[DIEHARD]

QLD prop Flegler to become a Dolphin
https://www.dolphinsnrl.com.au/news/...ome-a-dolphin/

The Dolphins continue to lay the foundations for a strong future with the signing of Queensland Maroons’ forward Thomas Flegler.

Flegler will join the Dolphins on a four-year deal that will begin with the 2024 NRL season.

He joins fellow Bronco Herbie Farnworth – who signed his own three-year deal on Friday – in becoming part of the new club’s recruitment drive for the future.

Flegler will complete his commitments with the Broncos in 2023 and move across town to join the Dolphins at the end of the season.

He will add even more starch to a Dolphins’ pack that already bristles with the experience of Jesse and Kenny Bromwich, Felise Kaufusi, Jarrod Wallace and Mark Nicholls.

At just 23 years of age – the same age as Farnworth – Flegler has already played a State of Origin match for the Maroons and represented the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII twice.

Dolphins’ chief executive Terry Reader said the signing of Flegler was a huge boost for the club’s future.

“We are very pleased to have secured Tom on a four-year contract starting at the end of this season,” said Reader.

“He is still a young forward but already has 74 matches of NRL experience behind him, as well as representing at both State of Origin and international level.

“The Dolphins have always said that our recruitment strategy was about building a club with a strong future, rather than just for season 2023.

“The signature of Tom and Herbie Farnworth are great examples of that strategy at work.

“We are very excited about what these two players can add to the squad we have already assembled.

“It is also a huge boost for us as we get ready to play our first ever NRL match next weekend – this truly is an exhilarating time for all of the Dolphins’ members and our fans.”

Born in North Queensland, Flegler played for the Tully Tigers before joining the Broncos as a teenager.

He made his NRL debut in round one of the 2019 season, playing for the under-23 Australian side and winning the Broncos’ Rookie of the Year award in the same year.

The Dolphins will continue preparations for their debut NRL season by hosting the Roosters in a celebration of the late Arthur Beetson.

[Titanic]

The ‘Ponies have now lost three young guns for next year … they have cap space for someone like our Dave.

[DIEHARD]

The ‘Ponies have now lost three young guns for next year … they have cap space for someone like our Dave.

Oh way to rain my my parade, Titanic!

Still, I'm enjoying the show and really hope it develops into a nasty turf war.

It's gonna be a messy year for the Dolphins but they'll get better.

[DIEHARD]

Why 75 years of history sets Dolphins apart from other expansion teams
https://www.nrl.com/news/2023/03/01/...pansion-teams/

If the NRL had promotion for clubs outside of the Telstra Premiership, the Dolphins would be the model.

The Dolphins have a proud 75-year history of on-field success, a strong financial base, proven pathways for developing talent, established fans and potential for growth in a key rugby league market.

It’s what sets the NRL’s latest expansion club apart from the Gold Coast Titans (2007), Melbourne Storm (1998), Adelaide Rams (1997), Hunter Mariners (1997), Auckland Warriors (1995), North Queensland Cowboys (1995), South Queensland Crushers (1995), Brisbane Broncos (1988), Gold Coast Chargers (1988) and Newcastle Knights (1988).

Not since Cronulla and Penrith were promoted in 1967 from the NSWRL second division competition has an established club joined the game’s top tier, and the Dolphins are the first team to do so from outside of Sydney.

Yet the Dolphins aren’t mired in their past and have proven to be forward thinking; announcing a succession plan for Kristian Woolf to take over from Wayne Bennett in 2025 before the master coach had even taken charge of his first pre-season training session last October.

Based in Redcliffe, the Dolphins will split home matches between Suncorp Stadium and Kayo Stadium but have no geographical location in their name - a move that will broaden the club’s appeal beyond the peninsula.

“We are the first ever grassroots side from the Brisbane Rugby League or Queensland Rugby League to ascend to the top-flight,” Dolphins CEO Terry Reader said ahead of Sunday’s historic NRL debut against Sydney Roosters at Suncorp Stadium.

The NRL is made up of NSWRL clubs or manufactured expansion teams, but we been around for 75 years.

"We represent the BRL/QRL, and all of the clubs we share a history with - Norths, Souths, Wynnum-Manly, Valleys, Easts and Wests.

“We used to play top-flight football before 1988, when the Broncos came in, and took that away from us.

“Ever since that day the club has invested in infrastructure and community, facilities and people, to make sure that when the chance comes, we could play in the top-flight again and it has happened now.”

The failure to land Cameron Munster or Kalyn Ponga has left the Dolphins without a marquee signing in their first season to compare with Preston Campbell and Scott Prince (Titans), Glenn Lazarus and Brett Kimmorley (Storm), Greg Alexander and Phil Blake (Warriors) or Wally Lewis and Allan Langer (Broncos).

However, the Dolphins don’t have the same urgency to achieve on-field results quickly as most previous expansion teams due to their history, financial support and location in rugby league’s South-East Queensland heartland.

“Commercially, we are No.2 in the NRL, so we are the second most sponsored club in the NRL already for 2023,” Reader said.

“Before we have kicked a ball or anyone has seen us run out in a jersey, we have had sponsors want to invest in our club and get behind us in a significant way, which I think also shows the appetite Brisbane has for a second team.

“Another thing that confirms the excitement behind the club is that, even in merchandise, we were the third biggest selling team in the NRL for the first quarter of 2022.

“Membership-wise, we are already through 15,000 financial members, which is a good start for us. That has put us in a really strong position off the field, and from that great things grow.”

The kids are alright
Boom playmaker Isaiya Katoa, who played for Tonga at last year’s World Cup, will make his NRL debut in the Dolphins’ No.6 jersey on Sunday and many keen judges believe that while the club missed out on Munster and Ponga, they may have signed a future superstar.

The club has a number of other promising prospects in fellow former Panther, Mason Teague, ex-Steeler Jack Bostock and 2019 Queensland under 18s hooker Harrison Graham on their books who will learn from the likes of Jesse Bromwich, Kenny Bromwich and Felise Kaufusi.

“Wayne has always had that philosophy about the need to have the right pathways beneath and the best kids coming through,” Reader said. “That was a key focus for us.”

“The Dolphins were one of the first clubs in the QRL to put a fulltime development manager on, a long time ago, in Paul Bunn, and then Anthony Griffin took over in that role.

“That goes to show the development philosophy the club has always had, and it is no different now that we are in the NRL – in fact I think that is more important.”

At the opposite end of the experience scales, Bromwich - the Dolphins inaugural captain - will celebrate his 300th NRL appearance in coming weeks, while brother Kenny and Anthony Milford have played more than 200 matches.

Kaufusi, Kodi Nikorima, Mark Nicholls, Jarrod Wallace and Euan Aitken are other experienced campaigners, while Tom Gilbert, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Brenko Lee have played State of Origin for Queensland.

England centre Herbie Farnworth and Maroons prop Thomas Flegler have already been signed for 2024.

“We only had 12-months to put our roster together and we could only sign players off contract so we are pretty happy with the guys we have bought in to start with,” Reader said.

"It's been an ethos of Wayne's that we need leaders. We have got players who have captained their country and premiership winners in our squad.

"We have got 15 players who have represented their country and seven players who have played Origin.

“We have had to sign a whole squad in one year, so we have got experienced veterans to kids and guys in the middle of their careers.

We think we have signed some of the best kids in the country.

“Who knows how they will go during the year. There are always players who jump out of the ground each season, so it is exciting.

"Let's not forget that our first signing was our marquee coach. We got Wayne."

The Woolf pack
Bennett’s first year of coaching in the top flight was 1987, when he worked alongside former Kangaroos coach, the late Don Furner, as part of a succession plan in Canberra for him to take over on his own the following year.

However, the Broncos approached Bennett to be their foundation coach in 1988 and while he headed home to Brisbane without making the transition at the Raiders it was a concept the 73-year-old always believed would work.

After being part of a succession plan at South Sydney, in which Jason Demetriou worked as his assistant for three seasons before taking charge last year, Bennett has agreed to a similar arrangement with Woolf at the Dolphins.

“That was really important and to be fair to Wayne, in one of the first conversations we had with him he talked about having a succession plan in place and getting that done straight away so the assistant we bring in is someone we want that can succeed him,” Reader said.

“That was a key part of our strategy to ensure our club had stability and credibility, so if you are a player coming here you know that we have a five-year plan in place.”

Woolf is arguably the best credentialed assistant coach in the NRL, having led the Tongan revolution that re-ignited the international game and steered St Helens to three consecutive Super League premierships.

“A few clubs were after Woolfy to be a head coach in 2023, but he decided that being under Wayne for a couple of years and learning from Wayne before he takes over was something he wanted to do,” Reader said.

“He didn’t do that lightly, he looked at our pathways and what we are doing underneath.

"Right from the word go the club has invested millions in academies and pathways for development from Rockhampton down to Brisbane because the top doesn’t work without the bottom beings set up."

What's in a name
The Dolphins have formed a partnership with the Central Queensland Capras, who will act as a feeder team in the QRL 's Hostplus Cup, along with Redcliffe.

The deal has enabled the Dolphins to spread their catchment area from the Redcliffe Peninsula, which includes Brisbane’s northern suburbs and Moreton Bay, to the Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg and Rockhampton.

It’s among the reasons the Dolphins agreed to forego having Redcliffe in the name of their NRL team.

“We weren’t allowed to be called Redcliffe or we wouldn’t be allowed to play in the Queensland Cup,” Reader said. “[NRL clubs] must have multiple affiliates in the QRL competition, so we have got Redcliffe and the Capras.

“The NRL also had some conditions about what they wanted, and the reality is that when you look at our logo – the iconic Dolphin from the 1970s and 1980s, that has been modernised – it is like the Souths logo.

“It has no words on it but when you see the Bunny you know what it means. That is the goal with the Dolphin.

When people see that Dolphin they know what it means.

The move has broadened the appeal of the Dolphins and Readers estimates the new club will have fans from across Brisbane and South-East Queensland in attendance for Sunday’s historic clash with the Roosters at Suncorp Stadium.

“It is Dolphin-mania in Brisbane at the moment, which is exciting, but there is already a supporter base here and more people migrate to Queensland than any other state, especially to South-East Queensland,” he said.

“They might have grown up being second generation Parramatta fans or Canterbury fans but living in Brisbane they can’t bring themselves to support the Broncos.

"Or they have got a Brisbane-born wife and kids, so now they have a Brisbane side they can support.

“We are finding a lot of that and we hope to get as many people as possible to Suncorp Stadium when we take on the Roosters. It is one of those games you mark in the history books if you are there.”

[DIEHARD]

Well my parents are set to head to the Dolphins first game. Really wish I could be part of this history.

They have season tickets, so looking forward to seeing their view.

Of course my parents are always Titans #1 and daylight. But we really value having another Brissie team playing at Lang Park which is very close to them as they live at Newstead.

[Titanic]

Hey DH, I felt affronted when the Porpoises claimed to represent the BRL … never in a million years in my mind. Wests v the Peninsula was only outdone in rivalry by us and your mob :-)

[DIEHARD]

Hey DH, I felt affronted when the Porpoises claimed to represent the BRL … never in a million years in my mind. Wests v the Peninsula was only outdone in rivalry by us and your mob :-)

I know what you mean. Feeling still exists at the Valleys club.

[DIEHARD]

Inside story of how the Dolphins came to life
Travis Meyn and Peter Badel
https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...6159b8826bbdc0

It has been nearly 40 years since the Redcliffe Dolphins were at the top of their game. This is how the NRL’s newest club got back to the top.

Wayne Bennett has vowed the Dolphins won’t be embarrassed in the NRL following a 76-year journey to become Queensland’s fourth top-flight club.

The Dolphins will officially enter the National Rugby League at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday afternoon when they face the Sydney Roosters in round 1 of the 2023 Premiership.

It has been a long road to the top grade for the Redcliffe club, which was founded in 1947 and has spent nearly four decades planning for this day.

A powerhouse of the Brisbane Rugby League in its glory days, the Dolphins were relegated to second-tier status in 1988 when the Brisbane Broncos were formed to enter the NSWRL.

Since then, Redcliffe has been working towards a return to the top and will celebrate that moment when the Dolphins grace the old Lang Park and become the River City’s rival for the Broncos.

Bennett, a seven-time premiership-winning mentor, has seen it all in 44 years of professional coaching and insists the Dolphins won’t fail in the NRL.

“It’s a very special day,” Bennett said.

“It’s the dawn of the Dolphins and it’s about to come to reality.

“I don’t have a lot of regrets about what we’ve done. You do look back on your pre-season and I think we did it really well.

“Yes, we have (the ability to win), but I’m not focusing on winning at the moment. It’s a case of coming together as a team.”

PENINSULA TO PENTHOUSE

It has been 16 years since the NRL’s last expansion side – the Gold Coast Titans – entered the league in 2007.

In that time, the Titans have struggled on and off the field, winning only one finals match and collapsing under crippling financial debts in 2015, forcing the NRL to take ownership to save the club.

So you can understand the NRL’s hesitance to launch a 17th team, with the idea regularly floated before fizzling in the years since the Titans joined.

That was until Peter V’landys was appointed chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission.

In one of his first interviews as ARLC boss, V’landys told The Sunday Mail on December 1, 2019, that he wanted to bring a second club to Brisbane to rival the Broncos.

“Queensland is our market – we need a game every week in Brisbane,” V’landys said at the time.

“I can see 17 teams in the next broadcast deal working. I am not going to pre-empt the ARL Commission’s decision, but having a second team in Brisbane is 100 per cent an option.

“This is only my view, but Brisbane can sustain a second team, no question.

“The NRL is a billion-dollar business and I will be doing everything possible to make Queensland even stronger.”

What rugby league fans have learnt in the years since is what V’landys wants, he gets.

And Redcliffe’s bosses acted almost immediately following that statement, hatching plans to bring the Moreton Bay peninsula club to the NRL.

“V’landys made a statement that there’d be a new team 2023 and it would be in Brisbane, so Redcliffe got moving,” said Dolphins CEO and bid chief Terry Reader.

“Tony Murphy (Dolphins Group CEO) called me one day and left a voicemail asking me to come in and see them because they wanted me to run their bid.

“I had a meeting and looked behind the curtains of their operation. The next day I met Bob Jones (Dolphins chairman) and Steve Beakley (board member) and we did a deal on the footpath outside the Leagues Club to start running the bid.

“One of the first conversations I had with the guys about running their bid was we had to tell everyone what they had.

“It was a wonderful story that no-one knew about. It wasn’t about showing off, it was about telling people we were better set-up than many NRL sides already.

“We unveiled our blueprint about the club and its financial power. We went six lengths in front that day and no-one caught us from that point.

“The front page of the paper said ‘Bigger than the Broncos’ with $100 million in assets. We put our marker in the ground about the foundation the club had.”

OVERCOMING COVID

The NRL’s broadcast deal was due to expire at the end of the 2022 season, making a 2023 launch the most logical time for a new club to enter the competition.

It was early in 2020 when expansion started to gather momentum, with the Dolphins, Brisbane Firehawks (Easts Tigers), and Brisbane Bombers/Jets bids showing interest.

But then emerged a global pandemic – Covid-19 – which shut the world down for the best part of 2020, with the NRL season put on ice for months after just one round.

Expansion looked destined to be shelved once again. But V’landys had other ideas.

“You have to dip your toe in the water at some point,” V’landys said.

“We need to turn casual fans into engaged fans and for us it was important they were new fans. We didn’t want someone that followed the Brisbane Broncos to go for the Dolphins.

“The Dolphins did an independent study that showed they could get up to 200,000 new viewers. They showed us they could get new people that will become engaged fans.

“That was important because we needed to sell that to the broadcasters, because they needed to see they’d get additional revenues out of expansion.

“That was the main sale point of the Dolphins – they did the study and research to prove they could attract a new audience to the game.”

But with the struggles of the Titans and other cash-strapped NRL clubs a concern, the Dolphins emerged a clear frontrunner thanks to their asset base consisting of a successful leagues club, shopping centre and other property ventures.

“It was very important to us that we didn’t have to subsidise a club moving forward or one that could fall over after a couple of years. That would have been a disaster,” V’landys said.

“The Dolphins having $100 million in assets was a compelling part of the criteria.

“It was important they were financially strong and didn’t come back to the NRL looking for subsidisation. They had to stand on their own two feet.”

CONSTANT REJECTIONS

As Covid, and the reaction of Australian governments, tossed up continual hurdles for the NRL, it looked as though expansion could be put on the backburner again.

The entire competition was relocated to Queensland midway through the 2021 season and after the historic Suncorp Stadium grand final between the Panthers and Rabbitohs, the NRL made a decision.

On October 13, 2021, the Dolphins were granted the game’s 17th licence for entry in 2023, giving them 17 months to prepare for this day.

Bennett, mastermind of the Broncos’ six premierships, was appointed coach and Peter O’Sullivan came on as recruitment manager as the Dolphins attempted to convince 36 players to join the unknown.

They were given no concessions or leg ups from the NRL and continually hit roadblocks and rejections in the player market, missing the likes of star players Cameron Munster, Brandon Smith, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Kalyn Ponga.

With their $16 million NRL grant not kicking in until 2023, the Dolphins spent $7 million on operating costs alone last year but have done tremendously well to generate the second-highest sponsorship revenue in the NRL, behind the Broncos, and secure 20,000 members.

“They’ve done exceptionally well,” V’landys said.

“It’s always going to be hard, but the management and professionalism has been outstanding.

“One of the requirements we had was that Wayne Bennett was the coach.

“One, because he’s a walking marketing machine for rugby league. Two, we had confidence he’d put a good team together.”

DAWN OF THE DOLPHINS

The Dolphins were always facing an uphill battle in the recruitment space and there’s no doubt their 2023 squad is lacking star power.

The likes of Jesse and Kenny Bromwich, Felise Kaufusi and Tom Gilbert have given Bennett a solid base to work with and he has snared prized signings for 2024 in Broncos duo Herbie Farnworth and Tom Flegler.

Bennett, 73, was adamant he would set the Dolphins up for long-term success, rather than a short-term premiership pursuit, and he is confident the club is taking shape.

“We have a plan in place about how we want to be perceived and the young men will buy into that,” he said.

“It will be a process. Whether it takes five years or 10 years (to win a premiership) who knows? If you get the process right, you are a lot closer to success.

“I don‘t fear us not being competitive. We won’t be easy beats. It’s vital we are competitive from day one and I am confident we will be.

“No-one will want to see a new club getting flogged by 30 or 40 points. That won‘t be good for anybody in the NRL.

“I’m not allowed to bet on rugby league, but if I was, I wouldn’t be betting on the Dolphins getting the wooden spoon.

“If you look at the players we have recruited, particularly the older players and their background, it gives you a pretty good idea of what we are chasing in regards to how we want to be seen.”

For the Redcliffe faithful, it will be a special moment when the first Dolphins NRL team runs out at Suncorp Stadium just after 3pm.

It’s been nearly 40 years since the Dolphins were at the top and they believe they’re finally back where they belong.

“We’ve often joked that we’ve never had the time to enjoy winning the bid because the real work started straight away,” Reader said.

“The bit we’ll look forward to the most is when the team runs out in front of a bumper crowd in the red kit for the first time. We will be able to stop for a moment and enjoy it before we start thinking about the result.

“The Dolphins will be in the NRL officially for the first time.”