Kristian Woolf: ‘You’ll see that tomorrow’

Dolphins NRL Head Coach Kristian Woolf says fans will have the chance to see what their team is going to be “all about” this season when they take on the Titans at Redcliffe tomorrow night.

They will also be able to cheer on Tom Gilbert as he makes his long-awaited return after two seasons dogged by injury.

Woolf spoke to the media at the Captain’s run training session before tomorrow night’s Pre-Season Challenge trial game against the Titans at Redcliffe’s Kayo Stadium (6.30pm kick-off).

The Broncos and Bulldogs will play the curtain-raiser to the sold-out doubleheader, with the action starting at 4.30pm.

The Dolphins’ squad are itching to play, with the end of the preseason in sight.

“I think they’re just happy to play. It’s been a long pre-season, we’ve worked them hard. A lot of these guys would have liked to have played last week but I made the decision that I think it’s best they play one trial and they’re keen to go … looking forward to tomorrow night,” Woolf says.

He has named an experienced squad for the final trial game, with many players likely to retain their spots for round one of the 2025 NRL season.

Felise Kaufusi will captain the team from the front row and be joined by Daniel Saifiti, who will make his first appearance in a Dolphins jersey.

2024 Dolphins Player of the Year Max Plath will wear the No.12 jersey for the trial game as Woolf limits minutes for Kulikefu Finefeuiaki and Connelly Lemuelu, who are recovering from illness and surgery respectively.

“We know that Max can go out there and play some minutes and those two guys can split their minutes … we’ll figure out what we do for round one,” he explains.

“Max is really versatile and he needs to be in the 17 or in the 13 somewhere.”

Kurt Donoghoe, whom Woolf rates as a player and person, will play hooker as Jeremy Marshall-King is rested.

“The way he trains, the way he competes, he’s exceptional to have in the group. We’ve just got to figure out where he fits. He gets an opportunity at No.9 this week, we’ll see what he does there, and he had an opportunity at No.1 last week and he was terrific. We’ll figure it out,” Woolf says.

“(Jeremy Marshall-King) played pretty big minutes for the All Stars the other night. He was a bit sore afterwards, so we thought it best to give him a rest this week.

“I’m happy with what he’s done through the preseason. He’s been at the front of all our fitness, he’s a bit of a leader in the group. Him having a rest this week doesn’t hurt him in being ready for round one.”

Gilbert’s return

Fans, players and coaches will be excited to see Tom Gilbert return to the field at the club’s spiritual home.

“I just want to see him get out on the field and enjoy 30 minutes of football. That’s what he’s going to play. He’s been a long time out … it’s been over 18 months, I think, since he’s played a game of footy,” Woolf says.

“He’s had a great preseason, he’s done all the work he can do, he’s done all the contact … he’s ready to go.

“He should be able to do that with some real confidence. He’s been one of the outstanding trainers through our preseason as well, as you would expect from Tom.

“It will be great watching him run out tomorrow. I know he’s going to enjoy it. He’s going to have some nerves, but I just want to see him go out and enjoy 30 minutes of footy.”

Will he need to temper that trademark enthusiasm?

“I think he’ll be fine. He’s done all the work, he’s been nice and enthusiastic around training. He just needs to go out there and be confident,” Woolf says.

“Tommy will be what he is … he plays with emotion, he plays with his heart on his sleeve and that’s what we want him to do.”

Woolf is happy with how the squad is looking at this stage of the preseason.

“I think we’ve worked really hard. We’ve changed a couple of things and the players have really bought into that and done their best with that … they’re doing it really well,” he says.

“I’m really happy with the way they’ve gone about their work in terms of the work we’ve thrown at them and the fitness we’ve thrown at them. They get to show that tomorrow night.

“The preseason’s not done, we’ve still got a bit of hard work to do before round one, but tomorrows a first opportunity to show what we have worked on.”

He is expecting a strong performance from the Titans tomorrow night.

“They’re going to come out and use this trial and it’s going to be important to them and they’re going to want to play well. We want to make sure we do the same,” he says.

“It is a trial, so both teams are going to be trialing different things and wanting to look at what they’ve done through the preseason and try to do that really well.

“What I think the Dolphins will be about this year is a lot of hard work, a lot of real toughness … I’d like to think we’ll show a lot of resilience in our try line as well. They’re some things we’ve worked on. I’d like to think you’ll see that tomorrow.”