Ese'ese joins Dolphins for 2023

Published 12:50pm 29 September 2022

Words by Kylie Knight

The Dolphins have reunited international prop Herman Ese’ese with coach Wayne Bennett for their inaugural season in the NRL.

Ese’ese has signed a one-year contract with the Dolphins that will add further depth to their already-impressive list of talent in the forwards.

A Test player for both New Zealand and Samoa, Ese’ese has played for the Bulldogs, Broncos, Knights and spent the past two seasons with the Gold Coast Titans.

He will add more than 100 matches of experience to the Dolphins’ roster, an important factor in the first year of the club’s existence in the NRL.

Ese’ese solidified his status as an NRL player under the tutelage of Dolphins’ head coach Bennett.

That relationship played a part in the Dolphins recruiting the 28-year-old to the club, where he will join an engine room that already includes Jesse Bromwich, Tom Gilbert, Mark Nicholls, Ray Stone and Jarrod Wallace.

“Herman is an experienced campaigner who will give us another strong option as a middle forward,” Dolphins NRL CEO Terry Reader says.

“He is a solid professional that has been around several different systems and has played over a hundred NRL matches in one of the toughest positions on the field.

“We are excited about what he could do again under our coach Wayne Bennett and are confident he can replicate that form for the Dolphins to become an important part of our pack.”

Born in New Zealand, Ese’ese moved to Brisbane and was recruited by the Bulldogs for their under-20s team.

He played one NRL match for the Dogs before signing with the Broncos and establishing himself as a regular first grader in 2016.

Ese’ese played 13 matches for the Titans in 2022, has represented Samoa six times and made his Test debut for the Kiwis in 2018.

He will join the Dolphins when pre-season training begins in November.

HERMAN ESE’ESE

Born: 7 September, 1994 (Auckland, NZ)

Height: 186cm

Weight: 107kg

NRL Games: 109

Previous clubs: Bulldogs, Broncos, Knights, Titans

Representative career: 6 Tests for Samoa (2017-19); One Test for NZ (2018)