The Dolphins have handed contract upgrades and extensions to three of their best and most exciting young players as they continue to build for their future.
Preparing for the next few seasons, the club have confirmed that LJ Nonu, John Fineanganofo and recent first-grade debutant Tevita Naufahu have all been re-signed until at least the end of the 2027 season.
Not only have the trio landed new contracts, but Naufahu and Nonu have been upgraded to the club's Top 30 roster for the next two seasons.
Fineanganofo will be on the development list for 2026 before progressing to the Top 30 the following season.
Spending the first part of the year in the QLD Cup with the Central Queensland Capras, Naufahu made six tackle busts, one line-break and ran for 162 metres in his debut against the Cronulla Sharks.
"I thought he had a really good game," Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said.
"I thought he looked like a first-grader, and he's going to play plenty more first-grade for us."
As Naufahu looks to add to his first-grade experience, the other two players will attempt to make their NRL debuts over the next two seasons.
A former U19s QLD Maroons representative, Nonu scored a hat-trick in the NRL Pre-Season Challenge earlier in the year and has spent the entirety of this season in the QLD Cup with both the Norths Devils and Redcliffe Dolphins.
An outside back, he will undergo his second NRL pre-season at the end of this year.
On the other hand, Fineanganofo joined the club's academy system in 2023 and is originally from the prestigious Auckland Grammar School in New Zealand, where he grew up playing rugby union.
Part of the 2023 Australian Schoolboys squad, he is primarily a hooker but can also play in the forwards and halves.
The Dolphins' Best 17 & Full Squad for 2026
1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow
2. Jamayne Isaako
3. Selwyn Cobbo
4. Herbie Farnworth
5. Jack Bostock
6. Kodi Nikorima
7. Isaiya Katoa
8. Daniel Saifiti
9. Jeremy Marshall-King
10. Thomas Flegler
11. Tom Gilbert
12. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki
13. Max Plath
Interchange
14. Jake Averillo
15. Francis Molo
16. Morgan Knowles
17. Connelly Lemuelu
Rest of squad
18. Max Feagai
19. Elijah Rasmussen
20. Trai Fuller
21. Kurt Donoghoe
22. Ray Stone
23. Oryn Keeley
24. Sebastian Su'a
25. James Walsh
26. LJ Nonu
27. Tevita Naufahu
28. No player signed.
29. No player signed.
30. No player signed.
Roster spots open: 3
2026 development list
1. John Fineanganofo
