‘We are Brisbane’s team’: Rival’s stunning jab at ‘manufactured’ Broncos

Brought to you by

Dolphins chief executive Terry Reader has boldly declared his four-year-old outfit is the NRL’s true Brisbane team – not the “manufactured” near 40-year-old Broncos.

Reader made the claims on Wide World of Sports’ QLDER, as part of a broader discussion about being made to drop the Redcliffe name when it arrived in the NRL.

Reader said the club probably would have done so anyway, given it made little sense for them to carry it in the national competition, in the same way it wouldn’t have made sense for the Broncos to be called Red Hill.

But he suggested dropping the geographical name also meant it better represented the QCup and BRL competitions, which led to a stronger supporter base outside Brisbane.

“We’re based (in Redcliffe), we’re proud of it, it’s our spiritual home,” Reader said.

“The funny thing is, and Broncos fans won’t like hearing this, but we actually represent the BRL. We are Brisbane’s team.

“I said this to many people when we started and they asked ‘how am I going to go for Redcliffe? I hate Redcliffe. I’ve grown up hating Redcliffe. I’m a Norths fan’, or ‘I’m a Souths fan’.

Read more

Investigation looms as ‘dismal’ 40-year Eels pain continues

“I said: ‘That’s great. Guess what? You still get to hate Redcliffe every week still in the QCup, but they represent you (in the NRL)’.

“You’ve helped us get here. We’re the first team to ascend to the national competition out of the BRL or QRL competition – no other team has done that.

“The Broncos were a manufactured expansion side, but we are the first grassroots side to ascend to the NRL and I think a lot of people when they hear that will think ‘actually you’re right, that is our team’, if they’re not already a Broncos fan.”

Reader said the Dolphins have offices and full-time staff throughout central Queensland, including Rockhampton and Gladstone, running pathways and grassroots programs.

But as successful as the Dolphins have been in their NRL infancy, Reader said the brakes needed to be put on further expansion in the region.

He said the early success was due to the 17-year gap between the Titans′ debut and their own.

“We’ve got the calibre of players (to support another club), but it’s getting the depth right at the start,” he said.

“You’ve got to have a balance when you’re signing a squad for the first time. You’ve got to sign guys at the start of their career, they’re 18, and you’ve got veterans, and also the guys in the middle. It’s not as simple as people might think.”

Reader said the Dolphins invested heavy in pathways and academies immediately once their licence was granted at the end of 2021.

Brian Pouniu, who made his first grade debut in the centres against the Raiders in round 12, was just 15 when he signed to the club’s junior academy.

“We made sure we’re getting the best kids in our academy systems … and that gives the depth, and that doesn’t happen overnight,” Reader said.

The NRL will welcome the Perth Bears next season and then the PNG Chiefs in 2028.

Reader went on to say the next expansion team should be a second New Zealand club, due to the instant rivalry it would create with the Warriors.

He also claimed the Battle of Brisbane – the nickname given to Dolphins-Broncos derbies – is already the biggest rivalry in any rugby code, league or union, anywhere in the world.