The Dolphins have unveiled a trio of youngsters as the club's newest signing, with two on development contracts for 2023.
It was previously reported in November that young hooker Harrison Graham would be the club's first player on a development contract, and that has now been made official.
Graham has played for Queensland at under-18s level and has impressed in the Hastings Deerings Colts competition, before debuting in the Queensland Cup at the Wynnum Manly Seagulls this year.
On top of that, the club have also signed Michael Roberts, who is the brother of former Origin star James Roberts.
While James is still looking for a deal in 2022, Michael is rated as one of the best young backs in the game, having led his school to the state championships this year in Queensland.
The signature added to their NRL squad is Valynce Te Whare, who is a rugby union gun but will make the hop to the NRL in 2022 with a top 30 deal locked down.
It had been understood that other clubs were also showing interest in Te Whare, with the New Zealand born youngster playing for Waikato in 2019 and 2020 in the junior competition across the ditch.
While not out and out stars, Dolphins' CEO Terry Reader said the three signings were just as important to the Dolphins as any other.
“Since the Dolphins’ recruitment team first came together to discuss players, we have always been of the view that squad members 21 to 30 are just as important as players one to 10,” Reader said.
“These three young players have been recruited from different backgrounds and different competitions — this underlines that we are doing extensive recruitment to build a balanced and talented roster for our entry to the 2023 NRL competition.
“It also adds to the work we are already doing with junior development to ensure the future of the Dolphins, including a junior Dolphins NRL academy camp we held this week.
“That group of young players will always hold a place in history as attendees at the first ever Junior Dolphins’ NRL training camp.”
