Welcome to 2023, and what a season it promises to be!

THIS year history will be made with the Dolphins becoming the first new side to enter the NRL since 1995 when the NQ Cowboys, Auckland Warriors, South Qld Crushers and Western Reds joined the expanded national competition then known as the Australian Rugby league ( ARL ).

Since 1998 this competition has been known as the National Rugby league (NRL), and the Dolphins, based at the Redcliffe club, will become the 17th team in the competition.

Some talk has centred on the new club's playing roster and the perceived lack of big-name player signings. Still, it must be noticed that they have signed seven current or former state-of-origin players. Jarrod Wallace ( from the Titans ) and Anthony Milford ( from the Knights), Brenko Lee ( Broncos ), Edrick Lee ( ( knights ), and Hamiso Tabuai-Fodopw ( from the Cowboys ) have all played origin for Qld in the last 4 or 5 years, while Felise Kaufusi ( Storm) and Tom Gilbert ( signed from Cowboys ) were part of the 2022 Qld squad.

Like all NRL clubs, the Dolphins have a strong rugby league history to fall back on. Rugby league had been part of the Redcliffe community since the 1940s, and the club formally joined the big league, which in those days was the Brisbane Rugby league competition in 1960. The club's first big-name signing was a former Qld and Australian player, Ken Mc Crohon, who signed in 1959 to lead the charge to the big league.

Then in 1965, Redcliffe won their first "A" grade premiership, winning the BRL competition with another former Australian player as captain-coach, Henry Holloway. Henry was also a former NSW and Qld rep, and one of his players in that 1965 side was a 21-yearold centre from Roma called Arthur Beetson.

Redcliffe were always close to finals football and always had a big following through the 1970s and 80s, and some of the game's best-known players wore the club colours during this time. Australian coach Frank Stanton coached the club in 1980, and in 1981 Arthur Beetson returned after his long and illustrious career in Sydney for one final playing season as captain-coach. Some other well-known Redcliffe rep players through that era were Qld reps Peter Lies, Ian "Bunny" Pearce, Tony Obst and Greg Oliphant, while in the early 1980s,

Mark Murray, Wally Fullerton-Smith, Bryan Neibling, Greg Consecu, and John Ribot all played origin for Qld and made the Australian side while playing for Redcliffe. Add to the list Dave Trewhella who played much of his career with Redcliffe before moving to Sydney and making the NSW-origin and Australian side in 1989.

Some of the NQ connections to Redcliffe include Ken McCrohon's grandson Sam Obst who played for the Northern Pride, and Henry Holloway coached in Ayr and Townsville in the 1970s.

Closer to home, our local state member of parliament, Shane Knuth, had a successful 97 first-grade career with Redcliffe in the mid to late 1980s and actually played for the club in the last-ever grand final of the old BRL in 1987.