NRL 2024: Numbers show the Dolphins have become one of the NRL’s strongest clubs after just one season
It took the NRL 16 years to expand to 17 teams, but these numbers prove the Dolphins have become a powerhouse team after just one season.
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These are the numbers that prove the Dolphins have become an instant NRL powerhouse and vindicated expansion in Brisbane.
The Dolphins will launch their second season in Rockhampton on Saturday night with a trial match against the CQ Capras.
While mostly fringe players will run out at Browne Park, it will be the first glimpse of the Dolphins ahead of the 2024 NRL Premiership.
Despite finishing 13th and missing the finals in their first year in the NRL, the Dolphins proved to be a smash hit and cash cow to rival the powerful Brisbane Broncos.
“We exceeded expectations,” Dolphins CEO Terry Reader said.
“We had lofty goals and a strategy built around getting to where we did.
“Brisbane should have had two teams long ago. We made sure we set up and had the right people in place with the plan to pull it together.”
The Dolphins were awarded the NRL’s 17th licence in October, 2021, and given only 12 months to get a club and team together to begin preparations for their 2023 launch.
With the backing of a strong grassroots club in Redcliffe, they were able to hit the ground running and quickly secured seven-time premiership-winner Wayne Bennett as foundation coach.
The Dolphins burst out of the blocks with three wins to open the year followed by a thrilling loss to the Broncos in the inaugural Battle of Brisbane.
By the end of the 2023 NRL season they had surpassed all expectations off the field.
The Dolphins finished second in sponsorship revenue and crowds behind the Broncos, including an impressive average of 32,500 per game at Suncorp Stadium.
They sold the most on-field apparel in the NRL given it was the first year their playing kit was available and finished fourth in the membership rankings with 30,000 members.
The Dolphins were profitable without a leagues club grant in their first season and the ‘Phins Up’ catchcry went viral in the NRL.
“We averaged 32,500 at Suncorp Stadium and there’s only one team just ahead of us in the NRL and that was the Broncos with just 35,000 average for their Suncorp games,” Reader said.
“It shows how much the city is behind us and people have bought in.
“Our second and third biggest crowds of the year were our last two at Suncorp with 33,000 for the Cowboys and nearly 36,000 for the Warriors.
“That was a great mark of success for the club.”
The Dolphins are targeting a finals appearance in 2024, which will be Bennett’s last season in charge before he hands the head coaching reins over to assistant Kristian Woolf.
They’ve snared some quality players in Broncos duo Herbie Farnworth and Tom Flegler along with Canterbury’s Jake Averillo and their foundation squad will be better for the experiences of 2023.
The pathways programs the Dolphins implemented early in their existence will also start delivering players to the NRL squad this year.
“The club is built up and invested in the right areas with a strong foundation,” Reader said.
“We’re ahead of where we were at this time last year. Our sponsorship stable continues to grow and our on-field strategy and plan is in place.
“We didn’t sign players for the sake of it and if you think about it, no side has probably recruited as well as we have with the players we’ve brought in for 2024.
“Our first lot of academy players will be graduating to the NRL squad at the end of the year.
“We’re excited for the season ahead.”
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