Time is winding down on the Dolphins as they race to complete their inaugural 30-man squad for the 2023 season and beyond.
The club have recently secured Anthony Milford and are said to be making a huge offer to Cam Munster for 2024, but coach Wayne Bennett says it hasnโt been plain sailing.
Bennett spoke to Triple M this week to discuss the problems the club has had with recruitment and to take aim at the current generation of players for not โgrowing upโ.
The calls came after Bennett admitted two players had recently committed to the Dolphins before back-flipping.
โThere were certainly two guys who had committed, done the dealโฆ then they had a change of heart,โ Bennett said.
โI donโt know if it was (their manager). Everyone is a part of it. Itโs like a lot of things, we blame everyone else โ the refs, the manager โ but thatโs the problem weโve got with a lot of players at the moment, theyโre not growing up.
โEverybody is protecting them.
โI donโt get that. (Players) should say โitโs my decision, Iโve got to own it, and if Iโm not strong enough to stand up to my manager, I pay a huge price for that.'โ
But Bennett could also see the upside to his recent disappointment, with the coach admitting he โdodged a bulletโ by avoiding players with a fickle mentality.
โYou want them to be men and say: โListen mate, Iโm not comingโ, for them to own it.
โBut I realised itโs a blessing in disguise. You realise you just dodged a bullet but at the time youโre emotionally involved with the player. Then you find out thatโs not what youโre dealing with.โ
The master coach also confirmed reports from earlier in the week that the Dolphins were making a strategic move to lure Storm and Maroons star Cameron Munster back to Queensland for 2024, having missed out on his signature for next year.
โHeโs one of a group of players weโre looking at,โ Bennett said.
โWeโve made it known where we stand. Weโve got to play the waiting game and see what happens. Hopefully heโll come.โ
The Dolphins still have 11 vacant spots on their roster for next year and a lot of uncertainty still hangs over the club, but Bennett left fans with one guarantee for the 2023 season.
โThe only thing weโll guarantee is weโll do our best and thatโs everything to me. Weโll go in and be the club everyone wants us to be.
โIt might take a little longer than we want but thatโs OK. Youโve got to be patient, nothing is built overnight.โ
