The Dolphins are building something special in 2025.
That seems a slightly wild statement to make given their first month of footy saw four consecutive losses, but it was always going to take time for this team, with a handful of new faces, and a new coach, to gel.
Wayne Bennett's departure left a shadow over the club, there is little doubt about that.
It's not exactly a surprise either. It's far easier to remember the clubs who have struggled in the post-Bennett era than those who have succeeded.
But the Dolphins had an opportunity to be built different in 2025 on their push to make the finals for the first time since their addition to the NRL ahead of the 2023 campaign, and it's a path they now seem to be heading in the right direction on.
After those four losses - where defensively they were still solid enough particularly in trying circumstances against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and again in Round 4 against the Brisbane Broncos - you would have been forgiven for writing the Redcliffe-based outfit off.
But that is now anything but the case.
A strong win over the admittedly struggling Gold Coast Titans built on attack got their account moving, and more than that, the comments coming out of the club were making all the right noise.
Sure, there was disappointment over their losing streak, and a desire to find competition points and 'keep the heads up', but it was anything but a lost cause.
Coach Woolf said he could see the signs of a good rugby league team, and more importantly, one who wanted to fight for the right to challenge the top teams.
A fortnight removed from that win over the Gold Coast, and the Dolphins have a three-and-four record, having beaten both of last year's grand finalists in back-to-back weeks.
That in itself is an impressive feat, and while the Penrith Panthers have been on struggle street throughout the first quarter of the season, the win over the Storm was potentially the best in the short history of the Dolphins.
After being behind 16 points to 2 early in the contest, they fought their way back in, and then ran on 40 unanswered points to demolish their Victorian-based opposition.
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy couldn't contain himself in the post-match press conference, dropping an f-bomb to get it going, and it seemed to sum up the general feeling of rugby league fans.
What just happened?
But when you dive into it, it's more than just hard work which let the Dolphins run away with the contest, even if that was the early catalyst for their turnaround in fortunes after at one point looking as if they were going to be the ones on the wrong end of a cricket score.
The start of that turnaround was all around bench forwards Josh Kerr and Ray Stone.
They came onto the park and totally flipped the game, and Woolf was full of praise for the duo post-game, with Kerr playing his 100th NRL game.
"He did. He [Josh Kerr] was really hard to handle. Every carry he had he was hard to handle. He sort of got his nose through and he has been able to do that for us the last couple of weeks. He has been outstanding," Woolf said in one part of his post-game press conference.
"It's great for him, 100 games tonight and to play the way he did is outstanding."
"I thought our bench tonight overall was outstanding. Ray Stone came on and changed the game. He was outstanding. He gets two tries for a reward, but some of the defensive work and supports."
There was absolutely zero coincidence the duo coming into the game flipped it either given the way they worked with Kerr crossing for the Dolphins' opening try, and Stone putting himself in the right place at the right time to grab a second half try-scoring double.
Stone wound up with three tackle busts as part of his 124 metres, while Kerr had five as part of his 96 metres, while the duo also hit hard in defence.
It was the spark of energy the Dolphins needed to turn the table of the game, and seemed to list their teammates, with other forwards then getting into the game to roll the Melbourne pack, which then allowed the spine - even though they were missing Jeremy Marshall-King - to go to work.
Isaiya Katoa was phenomenal throughout the 40 unanswered point run, and so too were the outside backs, with Herbie Farnworth leading the way and Jack Bostock also putting together an outstanding performance.
What it did show was the mark of a strong rugby league team who can feed off the energy of any player at any moment to reverse a game, and then move forward as a unit.
That sort of play and performance will take the Dolphins a long way, and while they can't afford to regularly start like they did against the Storm, they also won't be playing an attackingly brilliant, fast-starting side like the Storm every week.
The Dolphins are unlikely to contend for the premiership, but this is the type of year where they can put the building blocks in place for a future one and qualify for the finals for the first time.
It's early days, but the signs are positive, the lights are green, and the Kristian Woolf era is well and truly underway in Redcliffe.
