The Dolphins delivered a 36-16 demolition of the Sharks in Wayne Bennett’s 900th game as coach, and one man stood out on debut — Valynce Te Whare.
Dolphins veteran Jarrod Wallace told foxsports.com.au Te Whare would become a “cult hero” in Redcliffe and the young gun showed exactly why on Saturday night.
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After Brenko Lee’s hamstring injury in Round 9, Te Whare slotted into the right centre spot after spending only a single season in the Dolphins’ Queensland Cup side in 2022.
Te Whare was recruited by the Dolphins in December 2021 and had never played the 13-man code prior to joining the NRL’s newest franchise.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Fox League’s Eamonn Tiernan asked Bennett why the Dolphins signed Te Whare.
In true Wayne Bennett fashion, he delivered a hilarious response.
“We thought he was an investment into the future. We were looking for talent, and he is talented,” Bennett said.
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“Why this week for his debut?” Tiernan asked.
“Because I had a bad night’s sleep, and I made a decision,” Bennett said with a wry smile.
“It was what I came up with, it was in the dream… I think we are going to find with Val he is a big match player and the bigger the occasion the better he will play.
“There’s just some players who have that kind of psych and I think that’s part of his DNA.”
Bennett was also asked what he thought of Te Whare’s performance on debut with the young gun recording 72 running metres, two tries and six tackle breaks.
While the debutant was dangerous in attack, the master coach highlighted his defence as an area of improvement.
“He can be better, he’s got a lot of improvement in him but it wasn’t a bad start in his first NRL game,” Bennett said.
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“Ball in hand he is pretty devastating,” a reporter replied.
“Well it is when he doesn’t that worries me,” Bennett said.
Reporters also informed Bennett and skipper Felise Kaufusi Te Whare’s family and teammates had delivered an emotional Haka.
Queue another jab from the master coach
“He did a Haka did he, good on him… he had more energy than he thought he did, that’s great,” Bennett said.
“Maybe he should be talking about us, the effort we put into him.”
