The Dolphins have the talent to make the finals – but Kristian Woolf must solve their inconsistency if they are to get there.

THE newest club in the NRL has one very clear goal for 2026: to make the top eight for the first time in their history.

Late-season fade-outs have cost the Dolphins a maiden playoff berth in their first three seasons.

Coach Kristian Woolf isn’t planning for another near miss in his second year at the helm.

“Our expectations on ourselves are pretty high,” Woolf told Australian broadcaster Channel Seven at the club’s season launch.

“We were a bit disappointed with where we finished last year. And while we had plenty of games and plenty of periods through the season we could be really happy with, we fell short ultimately, and we want to make sure that we’re playing finals.”

It’s been the same story for the Phins ever since they joined the competition in 2023.

The Redcliffe-based outfit became the fourth NRL club in rugby league-mad Queensland, joining Brisbane Broncos, Gold Coast Titans and North Queensland Cowboys.

They couldn’t have landed a better foundation coach than Wayne Bennett, who cherry-picked Woolf as his successor, fresh off leading St Helens to three consecutive Super League titles in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The brains trust compiled a squad based on experienced, dependable forwards laying a foundation for young, mercurial backs.

Jesse and Kenny Bromwich, Jarrod Wallace, Felise Kaufusi and Mark Nicholls held down the middle, with speedster Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and rookie playmaker Isaiya Katoa headlining the backs.

It ensured the new kids on the block were no pushovers in their first season.

The Dolphins won their first three games — including a memorable debut upset of the Roosters — before losing 10 of their last 12 matches to tumble out of play-off calculations.

In 2024, the Phins sat in the top four after Round 15, then tumbled out of the top eight altogether.

Woolf took charge at the start of 2025, and the young club overcame a 0-4 start to once again find themselves in the play-off places.

They looked destined to play in their first finals after they upset the Warriors in Auckland in Round 22… until a three-game losing streak led to a ninth-place finish.

Late-season fade-outs have quickly become a trend.

Depth has been an issue, although their horror run with injury last year would have stretched any squad thin.

Daniel Saifiti (shoulder, Round 8), Tom Gilbert (pectoral, Round 11), Max Plath (ACL, Round 14), Jack Bostock (ACL, Round 16) and Herbie Farnworth (hamstring, Round 22) all ended their seasons early.

Thomas Flegler didn’t play a single game due to an ongoing shoulder complaint suffered early in 2024.

The injury curse stretched into 2026, when New Zealand international Jeremy Marshall-King slipped over at home and injured his knee, ruling him out of the first two months of the campaign.

But the roster does have more quality depth this year, especially once Marshall-King, Bostock and Saifiti return.

Flegler has finally returned from his shoulder lay-off, making his first NRL appearances in more than 600 days. Trai Fuller produced a strong comeback from a long ACL lay-off late last year, notching four tries in the post-season Prime Minister’s XIII clash.

On the recruiting front, State of Origin ace Selwyn Cobbo arrives from the Broncos and reportedly shed 10 kilograms in pre-season training. Ex-St Helens star Morgan Knowles has slotted straight into Woolf’s starting side, while former Penrith playmaker Brad Schneider adds solid back-up on the bench.

They have lost retirees Mark Nicholls and Kenny Bromwich, plus Josh Kerr and Aublix Tawha to rival clubs, although those forwards spent most of 2025 either on the bench or sidelined by injury.

With a clean bill of health, this is a squad capable of improving on past performances — and that would mean finals.

The recipe remains the same.

The forward pack is populated by solid citizens rather than standout superstars. You know exactly what you’re going to get from Gilbert, Flegler, Knowles and Kaufusi, while back-row pair Connelly Lemuelu and Kulikefu Finefeuiaki add explosiveness with ball in hand.

In the halves, Woolf entrusted the captaincy to Katoa at the age of just 21 last season. The Tongan halfback is the future of this club, where he’s been a fixture since day one.

Supporting Katoa in the spine are Kodi Nikorima and Marshall-King, a pair of Kiwi reps aged 30-plus, bringing guile and experience.

But there’s no doubt where the Phins’ greatest strength lies: the firepower out wide.

Tabuai-Fidow is one of the most damaging attacking weapons in the game. Cobbo, despite falling out of favour at Brisbane, is a Greg Inglis clone on his day. Jamayne Isaako is a point-scoring machine. Herbie Farnworth made the Dally M Team of the Year in 2023 and 2024.

The star-studded back line means Woolf’s side can conjure points from any corner of the park.

The problem? They’re flaky.

Midway through last year, they racked up 158 points in three straight wins over the Bulldogs, Dragons and Cowboys… before losing to the lowly Knights.

Then, after slumping out of the top-eight race, they racked up 98 points in back-to-back wins to finish the season.

No team scored more points in the home-and-away campaign than the Phins’ 721. The issue was the 596 conceded — more than three points per game worse than any side that qualified for the finals.

That gap between good and bad — and defence and attack — hasn’t been narrowed so far in 2026.

A high-scoring loss to the Rabbitohs opened the season, followed by a gritty win over the Titans and an impressive upset of the Sharks in Sydney.

Losing to big brothers the Broncos was credible. Bleeding 52 points to the struggling Sea Eagles in Kieran Foran’s first game at the helm was not.

It left Woolf with plenty to think about. Yet again, the attack looks potent, while the defence looks fragile.

And since the round six bye, they’ve lost two tight games to the high-flyers Panthers and Warriors.

Woolf’s goal is simple: to lead the Dolphins into the finals for the first time.

What his side needs to do to get there is equally clear.

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 520 (May 2026)