Dolphins Reach NRL Semi-Finals After Four Seasons
The expansion club stands one win away from a grand final, defying early doubts with a record-breaking start.
Key points
- The Dolphins are one win away from their first NRL grand final after just four seasons of existence.
- Herbie Farnworth’s interception against the Roosters three weeks ago was the pivotal moment in their rise.
- The club has achieved near-instant success without tax concessions or salary cap relief, setting a new standard for future expansion teams.
The red jerseys flash across the Suncorp Stadium turf, a blur of motion that shatters the quiet assumption that newcomers are merely tourists in this league. For four seasons, the Dolphins were the charming underdogs, the TikTok-ready entertainers whose
Then the stakes climbed. English centre Herbie Farnworth launched himself into the air against the Roosters, his body a taut line against the sky as he intercepted a kick meant for Isaiya Katoa. He soared above James Tedesco, the Roosters captain, and the ball landed in his hands. The momentum shifted instantly. By half-time, four tries had poured down Farnworth’s left side, and the narrative of the season had rewritten itself in real time.
A family in the Maldives
The distance between the team’s ambition and their origins is measured in time zones. Richard and Joanne Farnworth, the parents of the man who changed the club’s fate, are currently booking a holiday in the Maldives. They left for Australia in January, before the Dolphins’ surge, and never imagined they would miss the grand final.
Blueprint for sudden success
Chief executive Terry Reader stands before 4,000 spectators watching a training session, the crowd a testament to the sudden local fervor. He speaks of a strategy that began in 2021, when the club won its expansion bid. The plan was precise: install Wayne Bennett as the inaugural coach, then transition leadership to Kristian Woolf, a proven international leader. They didn’t gamble on youth alone; they brought in established forwards like Felise Kaufusi and the Bromwich brothers to build a platform. On top of that foundation, they placed a prodigy halfback in Isaiya Katoa and a backline that now rivals the best in the competition.
The results are stark. In just 96 matches, the Dolphins are one win shy of 50 victories. They have no tax concessions, no salary cap relief, and no history to lean on. Yet they have outpaced the Melbourne Storm, who won the premiership in their second year, in terms of immediate impact. The Perth Bears and PNG Chiefs, the next clubs in line for expansion, now face a high bar set by a team that turned a modest base in Redcliffe into a hub of rugby union excitement.
The Roosters return
The path to the grand final leads back to Sydney. The Dolphins’ first match was against the Roosters, a victory they secured in round one of the 2023 season. It is poetic, and perhaps inevitable, that they meet the same club again with the premiership on the line. Three weeks ago, the Dolphins were reeling off wins against mid-table opposition, but the doubt lingered after a humiliating 66-0 defeat to the Sharks in July. Farnworth’s try against Sydney silenced the skeptics. Now, the Warriors upset in New Zealand has secured a preliminary final spot, and many now tip the Dolphins as the team best positioned to dethrone the Panthers.
