Teams Dolphins

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GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
May 27, 2013
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Now that it's official that the Dolphins will be entering the NRL in 2023, I thought it could be fun to start a news and rumours thread. November 1st is when the Dolphins can officially start signing players for the 2023 season.

We'll kick it off with the rumour (basically confirmed at this point) that Wayne Bennett will be the inaugural coach of the Dolphins on a three year deal.

 

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GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
May 27, 2013
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parano1a

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Looks like the whole Port Adelaide/Port Power identity crisis will be repeated again with the 74 year old club "Redcliffe Dolphins" continuing to field a team in the Queensland Cup competition whilst brand new entity "The Dolphins" fields a team in the NRL.
 
Sep 6, 2005
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GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
May 27, 2013
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Ahh, ok, that jersey is only going to be a Heritage jersey worn a couple times each season. The actual uniform will be revealed in time, sooner than other things to be revealed.
Any idea which teams they'll wear the heritage jerseys against? Perhaps the Broncos to really give it a local BRL/QRL feel? It's similar to the Crows v Power Showdown when you think about it. One club has competed in the local competition winning plenty of premierships for decades and are finally making the jump up to the national competition whereas the other club was more of a franchise that entered the national competition decades ago and have already won multiple national premierships.

It will be interesting to see if the Dolphins learn from Port Adelaide's mistake of trying to distance themselves from their history upon entering the national competition. Port Adelaide have well and truly proven in the last five years or so that embracing their history as much as they possibly can was something they should have done from the very start. The Dolphins should really do everything they possibly can to integrate their BRL/QRL history into their NRL future.
 

acm21

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Any idea which teams they'll wear the heritage jerseys against? Perhaps the Broncos to really give it a local BRL/QRL feel? It's similar to the Crows v Power Showdown when you think about it. One club has competed in the local competition winning plenty of premierships for decades and are finally making the jump up to the national competition whereas the other club was more of a franchise that entered the national competition decades ago and have already won multiple national premierships.

It will be interesting to see if the Dolphins learn from Port Adelaide's mistake of trying to distance themselves from their history upon entering the national competition. Port Adelaide have well and truly proven in the last five years or so that embracing their history as much as they possibly can was something they should have done from the very start. The Dolphins should really do everything they possibly can to integrate their BRL/QRL history into their NRL future.
Port were forced to distance themselves as part of there entry. It doesn't look like that will happen in this case, the only thing they'll need to be careful about is the use of the red v in a similar manner to st George.
 
Sep 6, 2005
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Any idea which teams they'll wear the heritage jerseys against? Perhaps the Broncos to really give it a local BRL/QRL feel? It's similar to the Crows v Power Showdown when you think about it. One club has competed in the local competition winning plenty of premierships for decades and are finally making the jump up to the national competition whereas the other club was more of a franchise that entered the national competition decades ago and have already won multiple national premierships.

It will be interesting to see if the Dolphins learn from Port Adelaide's mistake of trying to distance themselves from their history upon entering the national competition. Port Adelaide have well and truly proven in the last five years or so that embracing their history as much as they possibly can was something they should have done from the very start. The Dolphins should really do everything they possibly can to integrate their BRL/QRL history into their NRL future.
Id imagine one of the two heritage games theyd wear the heritage jersey could be against a historical NSW team like Souths or St George, with iconic jerseys...to kind of compare their long heritage alongside....in a jersey sense.

The other likely Broncos as you say.

Still a whole year away to know more.

As for the Dolphins...i reckon theyre not really Brisbane #2 but will eventually represent Sunshine Coast with a HQ based in Redcliffe.
 

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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Port were forced to distance themselves as part of there entry. It doesn't look like that will happen in this case, the only thing they'll need to be careful about is the use of the red v in a similar manner to st George.
I wasn't commenting on why they did it. I was just pointing out that the Dolphins shouldn't make that mistake and some think it's already happening by removing 'Redcliffe' from their name. Time will tell if they distance themselves from their history even more.

Id imagine one of the two heritage games theyd wear the heritage jersey could be against a historical NSW team like Souths or St George, with iconic jerseys...to kind of compare their long heritage alongside....in a jersey sense.

The other likely Broncos as you say.

Still a whole year away to know more.

As for the Dolphins...i reckon theyre not really Brisbane #2 but will eventually represent Sunshine Coast with a HQ based in Redcliffe.
St George? I would have thought that'd be one of the last teams they'd wear a predominantly red and white jersey against...

The Broncos is an obvious one but perhaps the Titans could make sense as well? Just keep it local in the sense that any game involving teams from South East Queensland is considered a 'heritage game' for the Dolphins. They've been playing games against the Burleigh Bears and Tweed Seagulls for decades in the QRL and the Titans have strong links to both of those clubs. Almost all of the Titans juniors come from Burleigh or Tweed and would have come up against Redcliffe in the junior years.

Maybe others feel differently but I think if you're going to embrace your heritage as a club and your heritage has absolutely nothing to do with the NSWRL/NRL, then it really doesn't make sense to me. Playing heritage games against other Queensland clubs that have strong ties to QRL clubs makes much more sense to me.
 

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acm21

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I wasn't commenting on why they did it. I was just pointing out that the Dolphins shouldn't make that mistake and some think it's already happening by removing 'Redcliffe' from their name. Time will tell if they distance themselves from their history even more.


St George? I would have thought that'd be one of the last teams they'd wear a predominantly red and white jersey against...

The Broncos is an obvious one but perhaps the Titans could make sense as well? Just keep it local in the sense that any game involving teams from South East Queensland is considered a 'heritage game' for the Dolphins. They've been playing games against the Burleigh Bears and Tweed Seagulls for decades in the QRL and the Titans have strong links to both of those clubs. Almost all of the Titans juniors come from Burleigh or Tweed and would have come up against Redcliffe in the junior years.

Maybe others feel differently but I think if you're going to embrace your heritage as a club and your heritage has absolutely nothing to do with the NSWRL/NRL, then it really doesn't make sense to me. Playing heritage games against other Queensland clubs that have strong ties to QRL clubs makes much more sense to me.
I mention St George because it has been mentioned
 
Sep 6, 2005
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Theyre gonna be red and white regardless, plus a sliver of a color like red or gold or silver...so theyre gonna clash with st george regardless, but this isnt the AFL where clubs are restricted with colors. Just like when manly and broncos play, or a blue team vs another blue team....therell be a home and away version for the dragons and dolphins.

I was just predicting/guessing that the two games theyd wear their heritage jersey could likely be against traditional teams like StG and/or Souths.

They might not wear it against Broncos (might not) if theyre dropping the name Redcliffe to try to capture broader Briabane fans. Just another guess there.
 

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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From the League Unlimited forums.... guy made these mock-ups....

View attachment 1270926
This first design looks great and is different enough to St Georgie for mine while still maintaining a sense of history to the Redcliffe QRL jersey.

I mention St George because it has been mentioned
Where was it mentioned? In this thread or elsewhere? It just feels like a nothing rivalry to me. It'd be like claiming Port Adelaide and Collingwood are rivals but removing Eddie McGuire and David Koch's involvement over the last two decades. There's nothing there other than the acknowledgement that both clubs wear red and white...


On a separate note, I wonder if the Dolphins will actively chase Redcliffe juniors. Daly Cherry-Evans would be the most notable - he was born in Redcliffe hospital, his father Troy played for Redcliffe and Daly himself first started playing rugby league for Redcliffe as a five year old. It seems like the kind of feel good story that you'd love to have in your first year in the competition if you're running the Dolphins, despite Cherry-Evans being 33 years old by the time they start their first preseason. Are there any other Redcliffe juniors they could chase?
 
Jun 27, 2013
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RCG will not playing at Parramatta in 2023, wants to play at the Dolphins.
I'm ok with that, though he will be somewhat of a loss to the forward pack

Gotta keep Mahoney and Paulo at all costs out of the guys who are out of contract in 2023 (see what happens with Gutho too)
 
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New NRL franchise the Dolphins have made the first player signing in the club's history with the acquisition of talented hooker Harrison Graham.


The 20-year-old has joined the Dolphins on a development contract, which could see him upgraded to the senior list if he impresses in pre-season, according to the SMH.

Intriguingly, Graham also has a trial contract with the Dolphins' state rivals Brisbane Broncos, which means he could also be given a professional deal by Kevin Walters prior to the 2022 season.

Graham, who can also play lock, was a Queensland under-18 representative, playing in a team that included the likes of Warriors full-back Reece Walsh and Melbourne Storm signing Xavier Coates

The Lismore-born talent's impressive form for Queensland Cup side Wynnum-Manly put him on the radar of NRL clubs.

Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett will have just over 12 months to put together a playing roster and a coaching staff capable of competing in the NRL.

Speaking to ABC Grandstand on last month, Bennett revealed where his focus will be.

"Get the right people. That's my biggest challenge. Both (on and off the field)," he said.

Bennett, who was the inaugural coach of the Broncos following their introduction to the competition in 1988, said he doesn't expect it to be smooth sailing with the Dolphins, but how they cope with the challenges will determine their success.

"It's not something I'm going to say it will all fall into place on day one, because it won't, but if we've got the right people at the club and I believe we have, particularly with the chairman, the board and the CEO," Bennett said.

"We're going to have some bumps and bruises and we're going to have some disappointments and some tough times, but that's the thing that makes the team - if it all stays together when you go through those times.

"It's when you pull apart that failure becomes inevitable.

"At the Broncos in those early days we had some tough times. They ran a coup on me three years into my time there to get me the sack because we hadn't won a premiership.

"We stood up to that and I know if we hadn't have stood up to that we'd have been in a mess and would not have achieved all that we did achieve."

The Dolphins are set to enter the NRL competition in 2022 and have been linked with the marquee signings of Kalyn Ponga and Cameron Munster.
 

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