The Dolphins debut NRL campaign has come to an end and with nine wins on the board, assistant coach Kristian Woolf is “proud” of what the club has built.
Wayne Bennett wasn’t present in his final post-match presser of the year after his side’s impressive 34-10 win on Saturday afternoon.
Many pundits tipped the Dolphins to win the wooden spoon in 2023, but they flew out of the gates and had a 7-5 record after 13 rounds.
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There were genuine hopes that the Dolphins could do the unthinkable and play finals in their first ever first grade season.
However, with injuries to key players including Sean O’Sullivan and Tom Gilbert, their depth was tested and they fell away.
Woolf was asked if the club can be happy with nine wins in their debut campaign and the NRL’s most likeable franchise earned more admirers after his response.
“It’s an interesting question, probably not no,” Woolf said.
“As we showed earlier in the year, there’s a bit more to this footy team that what people expected.
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“We saw that in the pre-season, we saw the skill level, we saw how hard people had worked and how well we came together as a group, that’s what we showed.
“We can be really proud of what we set up at the start of this year, and the way we played. Setting those foundations of who the Dolphins are.
“We did fall away a little bit, we can’t hide away from that, but I think we can be really proud of what we’ve done.”
With depth being a key issue for the Dolphins, recruitment will play a major role in their success in years to come.
Broncos duo Herbie Farnworth and Tom Flegler will make the cross-town move in the off-season.
Meanwhile, Bulldogs gun Jake Averillo has also penned a contract for 2024 and beyond, with club powerbrokers hopeful they can make a marquee signing in the coming years.
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