Dolphins players have vowed to “stick it” to their critics and use a lack of star power as motivation in their inaugural NRL season next year.
Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett hasn’t been the marquee magnet the NRL envisioned when they pressured the expansion club to sign him in October last year.
They’ve missed out on a host of stars which has seen pundits tip Bennett to collect the first wooden spoon of his decorated 35-year coaching career.
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But recruits Tom Gilbert (Cowboys) and Mark Nicholls (Rabbitohs), speaking at the unveiling of the Dolphins’ Kayo Stadium in Redcliffe, both believe the club will surprise plenty in 2023.
“I was very fortunate to learn a lot of lessons from the Cowboys last season in terms of people writing you off and sticking it to them,” Gilbert told foxsports.com.au.
“At the end of the day I think the big thing this club can be built is in our control. We control how we train and the effort we put into each game.
“Regardless of what’s been said or who we’ve missed out on, there’s a lot of positives about what we can control.
“We’ve got the Bromwich brothers coming and Felise (Kaufusi) coming and that’s another really good thing as a young forward to come to this club – to learn under them.”
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Nicholls, who played under Bennett at South Sydney, backed Bennett to turn the club’s signing struggles into a positive.
“To be fair, I think everyone is probably writing us off because we haven’t got that marquee player, which only helps Wayne, I am sure he will use it as motivation for us,” Nicholls said.
“There are still a lot of guys here with NRL experience here. We still have a good forward pack, we still have a talented spine and some quick outside backs.”
Nicholls started his NRL career in Canberra then moved to Melbourne and he pointed to both clubs as part of his reason for joining the Dolphins.
“The opportunity to come to this club and be a part of history and be a foundation player was appealing to me,” Nicholls said.
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“I spent some time at Canberra and the Storm, and when I was there they spoke about that first group that wore the jersey and what they created.
“Not long after at both those clubs they had some success, they put that down to how hard that first group of men worked and how they established the brand within the community and got fans on board.”
Gilbert stopped short of predicting where the Dolphins would finish next season but emphasised they will “definitely” compete.
“It’s a long season and you can’t control injuries, you can’t control ref’s decisions. We just have to be a team that controls the controllables and does that well,” he said.
“It starts today and we keep building, it’s a week in week out grind and you can’t get too caught up in the bigger picture. We just have to go out and do our best each day and those results will come.”
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