The Dolphins are yet to sign more than a single player for the 2023 campaign, despite being more than a month into their negotiation period with players.
The Dolphins, as well as all other 16 clubs, could begin negotiating with off-contract players from November 1, however, the Dolphins have come up well short thus far.
Multiple high-profile targets have either re-signed with their current clubs, or found new homes, with all of Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, Isaiah Papali'i, Luciano Leilua, Clint Gutherson, Apisai Koroisau, Christian Welch and Pat Carrigan sorting their futures.
It's also reported that Brandon Smith and Reed Mahoney have signed with the Sydney Roosters and Canterbury Bulldogs for 2023 and beyond respectively, adding to the Dolphins' misery on the transfer front.
The Dolphins have only managed to sign second-rower Felise Kaufusi from the Melbourne Storm thus far, and while he is a Queenslander, the club still need 29 more signatures over the next 11 months.
Of particular note, the Dolphins are yet to sign the marquee player to build around they so desire, and with players being snapped up left, right and centre, the pressure to do so is mounting.
But inaugural coach Wayne Bennett has told The Sydney Morning Herald that it's all about patience.
“There’s a word called patience and we can’t just talk it, we have to live it at the moment,” Bennett told the publication.
“We’ll just be patient. We’re not building a team for one season, we’re building a team for a lifetime. It’s important that all the decisions are made for the right reasons. That’s being patient, that’s being vision making.
“There’s a lot of water to flow under the bridge yet.
“Coaches will get disgruntled with players throughout the season, that type of stuff. There’s another off-season in front of us. I’m not fazed.”
Bennett did admit it was challenge as players wouldn't know who they'd be playing with.
“The other challenge for us is we don’t have players signed. The players know who will be coaching them, but they don’t know who they are going to be playing with," Bennett said.
As the off-contract list shrinks, high-profile targets the Dolphins have been linked with still remain in the likes of Kalyn Ponga, who has a player option in Newcastle, Matt Dufty, Jack Bird, Corey Horsburgh and Siosiua Taukeiaho, although it has been heavily rumoured he has signed with an English Super League club.
The Dolphins pursuit of a top-line dummy half seems to have fallen short though, with Smith, Mahoney and Koroisau all seemingly taken off the market. Josh Hodgson and Jake Turpin are the best of the players remaining for 2023 in that position.
Bennett said he wasn't going to change from the model with which he built the Broncos however.
“I don’t want to build a quick fix, I don’t want to build something made of straw," Bennett said.
“I didn’t do that at the Broncos, I’m not going to do that at the Dolphins. There’s no pressure on me ... [the people in charge] understand it all, they’ve been rugby league people all their life. They just want what I want: the best players available and us doing our best.”
