NRL pre-season: Tom Gilbert returns to Dolphins training, Bulldogs back at Belmore, Cowboys put through gruelling time trial

One injured Dolphins star is on track to play in round one after returning to training, while another’s NRL career remains in limbo

Luckless Dolphins captaincy contender Tom Gilbert is targeting a round 1 NRL return but the same can’t be said for fellow Maroons forward Tom Flegler.

Gilbert is on track to make his NRL comeback when the Dolphins launch their 2025 Premiership campaign against Wayne Bennett’s Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium on March 7.

Gilbert hasn’t featured in the NRL since round 12 of the 2023 season due to back-to-back serious shoulder and knee injuries.

A potentially life-threatening blood clot after flying home from New Zealand delayed surgery on his ACL injury suffered in this year’s pre-season tournament.

However Gilbert is back on deck at Redcliffe and firing on the training paddock in a positive sign for new Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf.

Tom Gilbert is on track to play in Round 1 2025, after making his return to pre-season training. Picture: Dolphins

Gilbert, 24, said he was hoping to be available for the blockbuster season-opener against South Sydney.

“I’ll be close to round one,” he said.

“It’ll be nine-and-a-half months (since the surgery). It will depend how I’m tracking and the confidence.

“It’s a good benchmark to look towards round one or those first couple of rounds.

“It’s a bit hard in the NRL to ease yourself back in.

“I don’t expect to be at the level I was (before the injuries) but if I’m getting picked to play for the Dolphins in first grade then there’s an expectation to play at a good level.

“If I’m getting picked I won’t be going through the motions. I’m always there to add something. I’ll be expected to hold a standard.”

Gilbert missed the entire 2024 season, after suffering an ACL injury in the pre-season. Picture: NRL Imagery

While Gilbert is progressing well in his rehabilitation, Flegler remains in limbo due to the shoulder nerve issue which ended his debut Dolphins season after four games.

Flegler has undergone two operations and is still months away from learning if the latest procedure was a success and would allow him to return to the field.

Even if he receives positive news, Flegler won’t be on deck for the start of the season.

The absence of Flegler will continue to be a blow for the Dolphins, particularly following the retirement of front row warhorse Jesse Bromwich.

Bromwich will also hand over the Dolphins’ captaincy, with Gilbert the standout candidate to replace him, unless Woolf opts to relieve him of any extra pressure following nearly two years on the sidelines.

While the news is good for Gilbert, the same cannot be said for Tom Flegler, whose NRL career remains in limbo. Picture: NRL Imagery

Gilbert said the new captain had to be a natural choice.

“It’s not something you can focus on,” he said.

“All those leadership things need to come naturally and as organic as they can. Part of that is being yourself.

“For me to be in any type of role like that I need to be Tom Gilbert and the best footy player I can be.

“A big step in that direction is getting myself right and training really hard.

“It hasn’t been easy (the past 18 months) and I’ve had my moments. The one thing that has come out of this is a lot of gratitude and perspective about things.

“Every time I get to go on the field, I have a lot of gratitude to be out there with everyone and doing what I love the most.

“When that’s taken away from you, you appreciate the small things.”

DOGS PUT THROUGH PACES, COWBOYS’ BRUTAL TIME TRIAL

— Fatima Kdouh

Canterbury kicked off their pre-season preparations without the famous cackle of Josh Addo-Carr billowing through the bowels of Belmore Oval for the first time in three years.

While Addo-Carr was reporting for his first training run as a Parramatta Eel, Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo welcomed back the majority of his playing squad, including Jacob Preston, on Tuesday.

Known for his gruelling summers, Ciraldo put the group through a series of running and tackling drills on day one as the coach looks to build towards another finals appearance in 2025.

Boom rookie Mitchell Woods will get his first taste of a full NRL pre-season over the summer. The talented halfback is being groomed as Ciraldo’s long-term option in the halves.

Reliable winger Blake Wilson was back on deck after he missed the back-end of the season with a serious ankle injury. He’ll be a tough battle to earn a round one spot on the wing against new signings Marcelo Montoya, Enari Tuala and rising youngster Jonathan Sua, who made his NRL debut in round 27 last year.

Blake Wilson is fighting for a starting spot in 2025. Picture: Bulldogs

Rookie Mitchell Woods put through his paces at Belmore. Picture: Bulldogs

International stars Matt Burton and Viliame Kikau aren’t expected back until mid-December.

High profile new recruit and former Roosters forward Sitili Tupouniua is also due back around the same time after playing for Tonga in the Pacific Championships.

Jacob Preston at Belmore during day one. Picture: Bulldogs

In North Queensland, a crop of about 20 players kicked-off the first day of pre-season in Townsville’s swelling heat on Tuesday.

Day one of coach Todd Payten’s pre-season mostly consisted of fitness testing, including the gruelling 1.2 kilometre time trial.

Tom Chester and Jaxon Purdue were in a dead heat in a time trial. Picture: Cowboys

Youngsters Tom Chester and Jaxon Purdue topped the endurance test with a time of 4 minutes and 29 seconds in a dead heat.

It was still three seconds slower than the current club record held by Kangaroos playmaker and Cowboys skipper Tom Dearden.

It doesn't get any closer than this! pic.twitter.com/YpMJL56Y4A

— NQ Cowboys (@nthqldcowboys) November 19, 2024

With a centre and wing spot up for grabs after the exits of Kyle Feldt and Valentine Holmes, Zac Laybutt, returning from an ACL injury, and Purdue are in a pre-season battle to win a starting place in the outside backs for round one.

Purdue is also viewed as a potential utility option in 2025.

Promising halfback Tom Duffy and metre-eating fullback Tom Chester will also be looking to press their cases for more NRL game time in 2025.

The majority of Payten’s big guns won’t return until early December.

While Test stars like Tom Dearden, Jason Taumalolo, Reuben Cotter an Jeremiah Nanai are due back until the new year but could return before Christmas in a bid to get stuck into pre-season preparations.