Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett gives fans an insight into the future of the NRL’s newest club
As the Dolphins ramp-up their first pre-season ahead of their entry to the NRL, Wayne Bennett has delivered a fascinating insight into his plans for 2023 and beyond. READ THE INTERVIEW
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Wayne Bennett has revealed why he chose Kristian Woolf as his successor at the Dolphins and has made the stunning admission he may coach on beyond his 75th birthday, warning critics: “Don’t write me off.”
As the Dolphins ramp-up their first pre-season ahead of their entry to the NRL, Bennett opened up about the state of Redcliffe’s $100 million operation, candidly conceding he does not expect immediate success for the new expansion team in 2023.
“It will take a couple of seasons to get ourselves right,” Bennett said. “I went through this at the Broncos. It took us five years to win our first premiership.
“There was no timeframe then and there’s no timeframe now.”
But he is certain of one thing: the Dolphins will not be whipping boys as the supercoach and his chief assistant in Woolf construct the cultural bedrock to make Queensland’s fourth NRL team competitive in their embryonic years.
The jury is out on the Dolphins in more ways than one.
Bookmakers have already written them off, installed as favourites for the wooden spoon in 2023. A host of big-name NRL targets – led by Cameron Munster, Kalyn Ponga, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Harry Grant – have rejected mega Dolphins deals.
Then there’s question marks over Bennett’s successor Woolf, who will ostensibly be batting after Bradman, taking charge of the Dolphins from 2025 with no head coaching experience in the NRL.
THE CHOSEN ONE
A NUMBER of names were tossed up as Bennett’s right-hand man. They included Dolphins Queensland Cup premiership coach Adam Mogg, Cameron Ciraldo and Paul Green, who was in talks with Bennett before his tragic death in August.
In the end, the supercoach opted for Woolf. They have no history, no long-lasting friendship. But Bennett has been impressed with the journey of Woolf, who coached the Cowboys under-20s side to the 2011 NYC grand final before taking charge of the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup.
In more recent years, Woolf has excelled with Tonga, steering the national team to the 2017 World Cup semi-finals, and delivered Challenge Cup and Super League titles to St Helens en route to the Dolphins.
“Kristian is ready for the NRL,” Bennett said.
“I chose him because I believe he has done a great apprenticeship. He has been an assistant, but more importantly, he has coached his own teams in the Queensland Cup and has done a great job with St Helens.
“If you want to survive in the NRL these days, your best journey is to go and learn and be prepared to make sacrifices with your family, moving everywhere and anywhere.”
QUEENSLANDER!
LIKE Bennett, Woolf is Queensland to the core.
Born in Mt Isa, Woolf used to travel around north Queensland in his early 20s with the Fred Brophy boxing troupe. Under the fight name ‘Afro Savage’, Woolf would collect $100 a bout while studying to become a schoolteacher.
His tough-as-nails, straight-shooting approach is, in the eyes of Bennett, the perfect cultural fit for the Dolphins.
“I believe you need to be a Queenslander to coach the Dolphins,” Bennett says.
“You have to get Queensland. The majority of Queensland NRL clubs have Queensland kids.
“I’m not saying other coaches can’t be successful but you have to get Queenslanders. The Queensland people are different. It’s just a gut feel. It’s something that lives inside you. I’m not a psychologist, so I won’t bore you explaining it.
“But any Queenslander will tell you they are different. They get it. They don’t need it explained to them. Any Queenslander reading this story will know what I’m talking about.
“Kristian is a Queenslander. I actually don’t have a history with him, but I am confident in him and I have spoken to him enough times to know he has what it takes.
“I like his qualities and what he stands for. He is Mt Isa-born and you don’t need much more toughness than that. I just know he’s not a wimp. We will make it work.”
NOT ON THE WAYNE
IN July, Bennett announced he would serve two years at the Dolphins before passing the baton to Woolf for 2025. It was the strongest sign yet that Bennett, who turns 73 on January 1, was ready to draw the curtain on his remarkable 50-year coaching career.
But Bennett has revealed he is not guaranteed to retire as a head coach when Woolf takes over. The seven-time premiership-winning coach is contracted to the Dolphins until the end of 2024 and it was expected he would slot into a head-of-football or consultancy role during Woolf’s reign.
Bennett, however, has not ruled out coaching at another NRL club.
“Don’t mention retirement with me,” Bennett said.
“If you mention retirement with me, you will do it at your peril.
“I’m not talking about retirement. I’m talking about doing two years and who knows what happens after that.
“I went to South Sydney on a three-year deal and I did my three years.
“But I kept coaching, I’m now at the Dolphins, so don’t start talking about retirement, because it can bite you on the ass.
“If Kristian was a younger coach, I would have done three or four years actually, but he is coming for the right reasons and I don’t want to hold Kristian back. He deserves his chance.
“Anything could happen. I really don’t know what my next role will be. I’m not at the retirement stage. I don’t know how I will feel in two years. But I will get these two years done and let’s see what happens after that.
“Just don’t write me off, OK? I can’t give you a better tip than that.”
THE CHALLENGE
BENNETT built the mighty Broncos from Ground Zero. But this, the construction of the Dolphins, is an even greater challenge for the NRL’s greatest coach.
Three weeks into pre-season, the Dolphins still haven’t filled their 30-man roster. They have four vacancies – and no true marquee player.
Despite a turbulent, 12-month runway, ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys believes the Dolphins will make the finals in their debut season, but Bennett is preaching caution.
“To be honest, I can’t answer where we finish right now, I don’t know what I’m dealing with,” Bennett said.
“I’m not going to make any predictions about finals, building, time, whatever. There will be none of that.
“The key word is ‘process’. A lot has to happen. I have to get players to buy into our culture. I have to get staff to buy into it and then we have to start getting the job done.
“I don’t care what the critics say about the Dolphins. Inferior people will always find fault in others because they are trying to make themselves feel better.
“I am closer to the Dolphins than just about anybody and I can’t make a confident prediction about how long it will take and how we will go next year, so why would I listen to someone that’s got no idea about the club?
“It’s a big task. I know that. The new clubs all have their battles and we will be no different. But it’s how we handle those battles that will determine whether we come out of tough moments quicker than we might stay in them.”
THE CAPTAIN
HISTORY shows Bennett is not a fan of co-captains. He likes his teams with one overt leader. He says he has yet to finalise his foundation captain, but confirmed Melbourne recruit Jesse Bromwich is a frontline contender. Queensland Origin hardman Felise Kaufusi, the club’s inaugural signing, is another option.
“There’s two or three guys I am looking at for the captaincy,” Bennett said.
“I haven’t made a final decision on that yet, it’s still sitting inside my head, but Jesse Bromwich will be in the grand final when I consider a captain.
“He was captain at Melbourne and he has won premierships, he has been a great front-rower and leader for a long time.”
Your Dolphins 2023 draw!! pic.twitter.com/gKSuvbmlLw
— The Dolphins NRL (@NRLDolphins) November 10, 2022
THE CULTURE
THE Broncos were the freewheeling, attacking entertainers during their six-premiership golden era under Bennett.
But Bennett has adopted a contrasting strategy in his composition of the Dolphins’ maiden roster. Heart, graft and forward grind will define the Dolphins rather than backline flair and glamour.
“I just want a group of men that are always doing their best for the club,” he said.
“There was a general in the first world war who said, ‘I would rather go to war with 100 men who will fight to the death than 1000 who won’t’.
“That’s my philosophy as a coach. Some guys may not have as much ability but if they compete and always give their best, you give yourself a chance.
“If you look at Ray Stone’s performances at Parramatta ... he plays when everybody else has given up. I love that.
“I’m happy with the starting pack we are building, but we do need to get some backs and myself and Peter (O’Sullivan, Dolphins recruitment boss) are working on that.
“The bottom line is we have got what we have got.
“We will build on that, we will make the club better if we have to, we will do the things we have to do over the next period of years and that’s the process.
“When you get away from the process, when you start reacting to critics and the scoreboard, that’s when you lose your way.
“That’s not going to happen at the Dolphins on my watch.”
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