By Nick Wright
Dolphins recruit Daniel Saifiti has vowed to rediscover the form that made him a State of Origin star, in a bid to deliver the NRL’s fledgling franchise a maiden finals berth.
The former Newcastle enforcer will fill the void left by retiring skipper Jesse Bromwich in the hopes of forging one of the game’s most lethal forward packs.
Dolphins hierarchy will be waiting with bated breath for Thomas Flegler’s medical clearance after the Maroons prop underwent surgery on career-threatening nerve damage in his shoulder.
Daniel Saifiti, pictured during his days at the Newcastle Knights, has launched his time at the Dolphins.Credit: Getty
Should he, along with Tom Gilbert, successfully return from injury in 2025, Saifiti could find his new Dolphins pack pushing deep into the finals.
Saifiti revealed a season he spent with new Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf at the Knights – when he earned the first of seven NSW Origin caps – prompted him to move north until 2027.
“The main thing was coming under Woolfy again. I only had him for one year in 2019, but me and him built a really close relationship, and we’ve kept in touch ever since,” Saifiti said.
“I pretty much knew after that first phone call this is the club for me. One of the first phone calls I had with Woolfy was about how when he was at the club I was playing Origin, and he would love to see me get there again.
“It’s not just going to happen, I have to prove myself to the boys just to be in the team. I find with rep teams if you’re playing in a good team that’s going well, and you’re playing good footy, you sort of naturally get picked.”
The Dolphins impressed in the first half of the year in both their campaigns to firm as finals contenders, before injuries and suspensions exposed their lack of depth.
Rookie halfback Isaiya Katoa has shown signs he has the makings of an elite No.7. However, he will need the men up front to dominate the field position to give him time and space to orchestrate the attack.
After a season in which they finished 14th for post-contact metres, the Dolphins would regard Saifiti as a crucial recruit as Flegler and Gilbert seek to recover.
And it will only bring the Dolphins closer together.
“He’s a huge signing for us. He’s coming to the Dolphins and wants to get back to that form he found a few years ago,” Gilbert said.
“We’re going to support him and push him all the way to get there, and we’re only as good as each other at the end of the day.
“I’m only as a good player as he can be, so I want him to do really well, and I want to play really well so I can help him and form that really good forward pack that there’s some expectation we should be.”
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