The Dolphins are reportedly the latest club to enter the race for off-contract Newcastle Knights prop Leo Thompson.
The New Zealand representative enforcer has made it clear for some time now that he was set to test the open market, despite the Knights being understandably desperate to hang onto him.
While the Hunter-based club have been in their own struggle to clean up a bloated salary cap, releasing Daniel Saifiti and reportedly tapping a host of other players - including Adam Elliott, Jackson Hastings and Jayden Brailey - on the shoulder, Thompson is one player they have a desire to retain.
But News Corp are reporting despite an upgraded offer being on the table from Adam O'Brien and his recruitment staff for the impressive middle forward, he is no guarantee to sign it.
It's understood the Dolphins have joined the hunt for Thompson's services, while Sydney clubs, the Canterbury Bulldogs and Wests Tigers, are also interested.
The Bulldogs and Tigers - along with the St George Illawarra Dragons - have been the most active clubs in the player market when it has come to chasing off-contract forwards, with Canterbury finally managing to secure the signature of Sitili Tupouniua recently, but still not being satisifed.
The Dolphins will be able to blow all three sides out of the water when it comes to money though as they look to add youth to their forward pack, although that could come down to whether they manage to sign Ben Hunt.
The released Dragons' captain is currently being pursued by the Sydney Roosters, Brisbane Broncos, Bulldogs and Dolphins, but it's believed his preference could be to remain in Sydney where he is now based with his young family.
That would ultimately mean the Dolphins have money to throw elsewhere, and a substantial chunk of it could end up in front of Thompson for the 2026 season.
The Dolphins have signed another Knight for 2025 in Saifiti as well as gun second-rower Kulikefu Finefeuiaki from the North Queensland Cowboys, but have a forward pack in need of replenishment. Both players are signed until at least the end of 2027.
Jesse Bromwich retired at the end of 2024, but the likes of Kenneath Bromwich, Felise Kaufusi and Mark Nicholls are all approaching the end of their careers. It's unclear if any of the trio will still be playing in 2026 at this stage, with their contracts all ending at the end of the coming year.
The return of Tom Gilbert from an ACL injury will aid the club in 2025 and further into 2026, although it's unclear where his level of performance will sit given he has spent the best part of two seasons off the park, having suffered his ACL injury in the pre-season of 2024, and a shoulder injury during the State of Origin campaign in 2023.
Able to play lock and second-row, he could be shuffled to the edge with Max Plath standing up as the club's starting lock in 2024, but it's prop where the Dolphins are still striving to add more depth, and a combination of Saifiti and Thompson could be what the club needs heading into 2026, when Kristian Woolf will be in his second season as a head coach.
