By Nick Wright
In the final minutes before the Battle of Brisbane, Tom Gilbert stood surrounded by his Dolphins’ teammates.
Nearly 18 months have passed since the dynamic lock donned his club colours in the NRL, as shoulder surgery and a ruptured ACL kept him from the field.
Whatever he said in that huddle clearly had an effect. His teammates would surge to an emphatic 40-6 triumph to keep their season alive.
Jesse Bromwich and Tom Gilbert celebrate.Credit: Getty
That is what has made Gilbert the Dolphins’ spiritual leader. Others in the same predicament, their careers left in limbo, would have fallen.
Gilbert has instead remained a vocal part of their charge towards a maiden finals campaign, leading retiring skipper Jesse Bromwich to declare him a frontrunner for the captaincy.
“He’s been injured, but he’s been a huge part of this team. I wasn’t in the circle or anything, but we’ve got TG13 on our sleeve, he’s obviously had a horrible run of injuries in the last two years, which has been tough for all of us,” Bromwich said.
“For a young guy who loves his footy that much, it’s been hard to watch, but he’s handled himself really well. He and Wayne [Bennett] had a chat and thought it would be a good idea to share a few memories or words with the boys, and it must have done something because the boys went out there and had a pretty good performance.
“He’d certainly be in the mix [for the captaincy next year], handling back-to-back [injuries], sometimes you could see those players disappear and not really offer too much to the team or the squad.
“Life’s been hard for him, I know it has, but he’s really offered a bit and is often turning up to trainings and meetings and having a say on the way we play. I just hope everything goes well for him going forward, and he’ll certainly be in the conversation among a few others.”
Bromwich is not ready to relinquish the captaincy reins just yet, determined to ensure Sunday’s clash with Newcastle will not be his last.
The Dolphins clash with Newcastle on Sunday could be the final game of Jesse Bromwich’s career.Credit: getty
With the winner of the Dolphins-Knights contest to earn the last place in the finals series, Bromwich refuses to look beyond that, and his looming “hostile” battle with Daniel Saifiti could be what makes or breaks their premiership ambitions.
The 28-year-old’s move back to Newcastle’s starting side in the past nine weeks coincided with his return to the form that has garnered seven New South Wales appearances, averaging more than 130 running metres a game – almost half of them post-contact metres.
Saifiti’s exploits, and reports he had been given permission to explore his options, triggered suggestions the Dolphins’ were planning a poaching raid for the 121-kilogram enforcer to replace Bromwich next year.
However, when asked of the potential to bring their forthcoming rival into the fold, Dolphins chief executive Terry Reader offered a cryptic response.
“All I will say is, if there’s a good player available we’re always interested,” he said.