Innaugural Dolphins' coach Wayne Bennett has revealed that England could be on the agenda for the club as they attempt to recruitment 30 NRL players.
Jack Bostock was announced as the club's newest signature to their development list on Tuesday morning, joining Harrison Graham and Michael Roberts at an announcement which also saw the club bring BlueBet on board as their jersey sponsor for the 2023 season.
The three development players sit in a squad which also features nine top 30 signings. Experienced forwards Jesse Bromwich, Kenneath Bromwich, Felise Kaufusi and Mark Nicholls, hard-hitting Eel Ray Stone, young forward Tom Gilbert, Titans back Jamayne Isaako and the uncapped duo of Isaiya Katoa and Valynce Te Whare.
The Dolphins have been routinely criticised for their recruitment strategy that has seen just nine signatures in six months, with the club needing to have 24 signatures on paper by November.
Bennett, speaking at the announcement, confirmed England will be a hunting ground for the Dolphins.
โThatโs a possibility; weโve talked to some players over there already,โ Bennett said.
โWhen I coached (England), out of the 20-odd players โฆ there were 20 of them in my opinion who would make good players in the NRL.โ
The super coach seemed to indicate the Dolphins current predicament was better than the public realised though, with possible signatures not yet announced.
โThereโs criticism we havenโt signed anybody, criticism about dadโs army and there will be criticism about something else in the future,โ Bennett mused.
โMy position on all that stuff is that if you start listening to the fans youโll be sitting with them.
โWe know what weโre doing, weโre confident in it and no-oneโs going to distract me personally from doing what I think is the best thing in the club.
โThereโs a lot of things sitting in the cupboard back home we havenโt released yet.
โNo-oneโs telling any lies here โฆ itโs not in our best interests to come out and make statements (today) until weโve got some things secured away.โ
Of particular note at the club, the lack of a marquee player for the opening season has been brought up as an issue time and time again.
The club have missed multiple stars, with the latest being Kalyn Ponga, who re-signed on a new five-year deal with the Newcastle Knights a fortnight ago.
It has left the Dolphins needing a club to release a star if they are to sign one of the key men for 2023, however, Bennett said he remains of the belief the club can secure Munster.
โIโm not unconfident,โ Bennett said.
โWeโre still in process of talking to Melbourne, and finding out what his future is there and talking to us in between.
โWeโre quite comfortable with our position โฆ the NRL havenโt told us we are (breaking rules) so weโll continue doing what weโre doing.โ
