NRL 2023

The Eels, coming off grand final defeat to the Panthers in October, looked strong in their Pre-season Challenge win over Newcastle with Josh Hodgson slotting into the dummy half role alongside premier halves Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown. 

Storm coach Craig Bellamy faces perhaps his biggest challenge to get his new-look squad back to a premiership threat after a first-week finals exit in 2022. 

The 29-year-old was taken from the field just six minutes into the match with his right arm wrapped in his jersey as a makeshift sling.

The Storm centre will be sent for scans to confirm the full extent of the injury.

Meanwhile, Roosters utility Connor Watson is facing six months on the sideline after suffering a ruptured patella tendon during pre-season training.

After initially fearing he may miss the entire 2023 season, Watson has revealed the surgery was a success and he could be back on the field around August.

Into his second year in the Hostplus Cup, 24-year-old Rodrick Tai who is one of the four Kumul players that joined the Dolphins,ran out onto the field, and managed to score a try for the Dolphins.

Before the trial, Tai stated that last year was a big year for him.

“To make the Hunters squad, play a lot of games, then go to the World Cup and to get to come here, it’s been a very big year. I’m just stoked. I cannot believe it. It’s been good”.

The 22-player squad, which was announced to players at their training session earlier this morning, will travel to Marley Brown Oval in Gladstone to take on the Central Queensland Capras on Saturday night.

This will be the first appearance of a Dolphins NRL team ahead of their official competition debut next month against Sydney Roosters at Suncorp Stadium.

This arrangement is part of a strategic partnership between the SP PNG Hunters and the Dolphins NRL club which aims to get more local players of Papua New Guinea into the NRL Competition. 

The four Hunters players - Judah Rimbu, Rodrick Tai, Sherwin Tanabi and Emmanuel Waine - began training with the Wayne Bennett-coached Dolphins this week and will be working towards earning a fulltime NRL contract over the next eight weeks of preseason. 

This arrangement is part of a strategic partnership between the SP PNG Hunters and the Dolphins NRL club which aims to get more local players from Papua New Guinea into the NRL competition.

The four Hunters players, Judah Rimbu, Rodrick Tai, Sherwin Tanabi and Emmanuel Waine, began training with the Wayne Bennett-coached Dolphins this week and will be working towards earning a fulltime NRL contract over the next eight weeks of preseason.

Emmanuel Waine, Rodrick Tai, Sherwin Tanabi and Judah Rimbu have been called up to the Wayne Bennett-coached side for train and trial deals in 2023.

They join fellow Papua New Guinean and Kumul player, Jeremiah Simbiken in the squad.

This is through a strategic pathway signed between the PNG Hunters and the NRL Dolphins in 2022.

Of those four players, two will be selected by the Dolphins to stay on and train with their NRL squad for the remainder of the season.

Bromwich, who has also captained New Zealand, will join the Dolphins on a two-year deal from their inaugural season in 2023.

The prop will turn 35 halfway through the final year of his contract.

Bromwich has played all of 272 NRL games at the Storm and will be a huge chance of becoming the Dolphins first captain.

The Kiwi is the fifth player to join the Dolphins since they were announced as the NRL’s 17th team last October.

Bromwich will join Storm teammate Felise Kaufusi, Eels forward Ray Stone, Broncos flyer Jamayne Isaako and young gun Valynce Te Whare.

The 25-year-old is the second major signing by the Dolphins after Kangaroos and Maroons second-rower Felise Kaufusi last month agreed to a three-year deal.

The 29-year-old has played his entire 152-game NRL career at the Storm so far, and will complete one last season in purple before joining Wayne Bennett.

The signing is a coup for the expansion club, who have seen a few big names ink deals elsewhere over the past few weeks.

Dolphins' NRL team chief executive Terry Reader welcomed the signing.

"It is imperative the Dolphins build a squad that contains players of representative calibre and Felise certainly fits that mould," Reader said.