Source :- THE AGE NEWS
When Kristian Woolf first took the coaching reins at the Dolphins, he was less concerned about what the top squad looked like and more curious about what was under the hood.
Before taking the hot seat from inaugural coach Wayne Bennett, he was determined to ensure Redcliffe was a talent factory that would inspire sustainable success – much like the all-conquering Penrith Panthers.
That idea dictated his early conversations with Dolphins CEO Terry Reader and Bennett. Once he heard of the involvement of Kurt Richards – who spent 13 years with the Brisbane Broncos and led the Queensland Maroons under-16s, 18s and 19s – Woolf was confident to sign on.
“It’s definitely something I was interested in. One of my first conversations with Terry and Wayne was about what we were doing with our academies and who was in charge of that,” Woolf said.
“When I knew that Kurt Richards was in charge of it, I knew we were in good hands, and it was a big part of me wanting to come to the club. When you’ve got those things right, and you’ve got the right people there, you tend to be able to build things for the future.”
In the early days, Reader foresaw the side’s fourth season would be the one where the fruits of their academy began to ripen.
He was right.
Winger Tevita Naufahu and versatile edge forward Brian Pouniu – whose first chance in the back row yielded 179 running metres and 39 tackles against the Eels – have become the maiden graduates of the academy, with lock Lewis Symonds and hooker John Fineanganofo also earning debuts.
Naufahu and Pouniu will take on the Gold Coast Titans on Friday night, with Selwyn Cobbo and Kulikefu Finefeuiaki rested to nurse niggling injuries.
“We were obviously really impressed with how he played last time, and what I liked about his performance was he got better as the game went on. He got more and more confident and realised he’s right up to that level,” Woolf said of Pouniu, adding Naufahu had been “one of our best players every time he’s played for us”.
A plethora of talent is yet to be tapped into at the top level. Those future hopefuls include two sons of former NRL stars – Noah Fien, whose father Nathan is an assistant at the Dolphins, and Adaquix Luke, whose dad Issac became a South Sydney legend – as well as preseason trial finds Zac Garton (back row) and LJ Nonu (wing).
In last year’s maiden NRLQ under-21s series the Dolphins were undefeated, before finishing second in the expanded 12-round competition in 2026, when they finished top of the table, before losing the grand final to the Cowboys 24-22.
“We’ve got a good patch of young blokes coming through, and they challenge us all the time,” Dolphins lock Kurt Donoghoe said.
“I think that’s definitely helping out a lot, it makes our training sessions better and the older boys try a little harder.
“Everyone’s fighting for spots, everyone’s fighting for each other’s positions. Brian had his debut earlier in the year, and in his second game you could just tell how much better he was for that.
“They’ve got so much potential and are really comfortable they can jump in and do a job when we need them.”
Across the club’s opening three seasons, depth had ultimately proven the Dophins’ greatest obstacle.
Despite entering the mid-point of the campaigns entrenched in the top eight, they quickly faded as injuries and suspensions cruelled their cause. There has been no such issue in their top-four 2026 finish, with Naufahu starring in the absence of Cobbo, and Pouniu’s breakout performance coming as Connelly Lemuelu fought back from a hamstring issue.
“I think it does make a difference,” Woolf said. “I look at our squad, and Max Plath plays 50 games this week, a couple of weeks ago it was Jack Bostock, a couple of weeks before that it was Kurt Donoghoe. We’ve got a nucleus of guys there who all debuted at this club.
“They’ve all become first-graders at this club, some of those have gone on and played representative footy, they all love playing together – you can see when they’re on the field, there’s a real care factor for each other.
“That’s what we want the club to be about.
We put a lot of time and effort and finances into our academy to make sure it’s strong and to make sure we’ve got good young players coming through who are well-developed, well-coached, and know what it means to be a Dolphins player.”
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