Filmmaker reveals how he convinced Wayne Bennett to star in Stan documentary series, Dawn of the Dolphins

A filmmaker who spent 18 months documenting the formation of the Redcliffe Dolphins has detailed the struggle to win Wayne Bennett over. FULL REPORT

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 73-year-old 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’.

Wayne Bennett in Stan documentary series, Dawn of the Dolphins.

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.”

A still from Stan documentary series, Dawn of the Dolphins.

“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.

A still from Stan documentary series, Dawn of the Dolphins.

“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.

Originally published as Filmmaker reveals how he convinced Wayne Bennett to star in Stan documentary series, Dawn of the Dolphins