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The Dolphins have been issued a warning ahead of their inaugural season from an ex-player that knows a thing or two about expansion.
Scott Sattler told Wide World of Sports that the Dolphins need to focus less on competing with the Broncos and more on themselves.
Sattler was part of the South Queensland Crusher’s playing squad in their inaugural season in 2005 and was also involved with the Titans when they entered the competition in 2007.
The Crushers’ time in the competition, known as the ARL back then, only lasted three seasons — and won the wooden spoon in two of those — before crumbling due to financial strain while competing up against the high profile Brisbane Broncos.
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Sattler has warned the Dolphins off from trying to match the Broncos off the field.
“The worst thing a new club can do is try and go toe-to-toe with the Broncos,” Sattler said.
“Trying to do everything to beat them, on and off the field, that’s just a recipe for disaster.
“That’s what the Crushers got wrong. What the Dolphins can learn from that is you don’t try to beat them off the field with your marketing plans, don’t try to beat them with your commercial and corporate packages.
“Although the Broncos didn’t go so well this season, they’re always going to be a juggernaut in the game, especially in southeast Queensland.
“Worry about your own backyard, and what you can control.”
In fact, Sattler believes there’s an opportunity for the two Brisbane-based clubs to work together — off the field of course.
“Be collaborative, as opposed to fighting everything. Both teams can send a really strong message to fans in southeast Queensland that they’re here together to grow the game,” he said.
“Yes, of course if they’re playing each other, then they’re rivals on game day, but outside of that, this is about the excitement of rugby league and having three teams in the region, if you include Gold Coast.
“If they try and go toe-to-toe with the Broncos, they’ll get crushed.”
The Dolphins officially unveiled Wayne Bennett as their inaugural head coach on Thursday.
Bennett has coached in the top grade for 30-plus years and with seven premierships to his name, he certainly knows what he’s doing.
The mastercoach revealed what he was looking for in a player. He hopes to land a couple of marquee signings but believes culture is more important.
Both Cameron Munster and Reed Mahoney have been linked to the Dolphins, while Eels enforcer Reagan Campbell-Gillard declined the option in his Parramatta contract for 2023 and is interested in joining Bennett.
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Sattler believes those first signings the Dolphins make are crucial — and having Bennett lead the way will help the club tremendously.
“Your initial signings are really important, to send a strong message to the community, and to potential fans,” he said.
“You want to send a message that, first and foremost, you can win from day one. Your head coach becomes your strongest recruitment tool.
“With Wayne Bennett as the coach, it sends a message to fans that you’re going to make a really big impact, just like Melbourne did with Chris Anderson in 1998.
“It makes recruiting a lot easier, it gives the club an aura when you’ve got someone like Wayne in charge.
“There’ll be players around the competition that want to come and be a part of that.”
As for a home ground, the Dolphins are expected to play majority of their games out of Suncorp Stadium, where the Broncos call home.
They may struggle to lure fans away from the powerhouse Brisbane club but Sattler says that’s not such a big issue so long as they can entice the general rugby league fan.
“I don’t think the Dolphins need to attract new supporters,” he said.
“They just need to attract the rugby league fans. You’ve got Souths supporters, Tigers fans, Panthers supporters, all living in southeast Queensland, so you’ve got to be able to hook them.
“That’s the biggest challenge for the Dolphins. The Titans did that really well, the fans could still support their team, but the Titans were their second-favourite side. That’s the focus for any new team.
“You’ve got Broncos fans that are rusted on Broncos fans, and appointing Kevvie (Walters) as coach, he’s a club legend, so even though it didn’t go that well in 2021, the diehard fans will have faith in him.
“The winners will be the rugby league fans who want the best of both worlds. They can support the Broncos, but when the Broncos are playing away, the Dolphins will be at Suncorp, so they’ve got an opportunity to watch a match every weekend at Suncorp Stadium.”
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The NRL is said to be considering expanding even further and introducing an 18th team at some point, but a lot will come down to how the Dolphins go over their first few seasons.
Sattler hopes the game is patient and don’t set the expectations too high, too early.
“I don’t think there’s a huge expectation from fans in your first 2-3 years. There’s internal pressure, you want to play finals footy from year one, but I think the fans are more forgiving,” he said.
“But if you’re not playing finals by years three, four, five, they start to ask questions.
“From a rugby league point of view, success is measured by whether or not you’re playing finals footy by years three, four, five, and if you are, the off-field measure are simple – does the crowd and commercial support reflect the on-field results?
“At some point the Dolphins will be like every other club, they’ll live and die by their results on the field.”
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