Depths of repair: Strong squad has Nicholls excited for the future

NRL veteran Mark Nicholls is excited to see the improved depth within the Dolphins squad but the 172-game prop isn't ready to give up his place in the team just yet.

Despite the retirement of inaugural skipper Jesse Bromwich and release of experienced duo Anthony Milford and Jarrod Wallace, the Dolphins have recruited strongly under new coach Kristian Woolf, with the battle for a place in the pack sure to be particularly hard fought.

As well as bringing in Daniel Saifiti from the Knights and Kulikefu Finefeuiaki from the Cowboys, representative star Tom Gilbert has made great process since surgery on an ACL injury, while the backs have also been boosted with the arrival of Max Feagai and Junior Tupou.

“It can only be good for us in terms of our training, having more good players around, so there's no chance to switch off the training and naturally, everyone at this level is got a fair bit of competitiveness about them, that's what got them here,” Nicholls said.

“Naturally, having better players around you makes you train harder and they can only benefit our team, and whoever gets picked for Round 1 will have earned it; with Woolfy as coach, you definitely know whoever's there Round 1 will have earned it and if we have injuries, then it's good to know there's going to be guys there ready to step up.

“A lot of those younger guys, it's now their third year of playing against men and training in an NRL system, so I'm really excited to see how some of those young guys come on, especially as a few of them got to experience playing with Redcliffe and Norths in the [Hostplus Cup] grand final last year.

“Capras made finals too … they've now been here for a few years, they know what it takes and what's expected of them, so hopefully a few of those guys can step up and really take some positions in the team as well, but hopefully it's just not mine.”

In his first pre-season in the head coaching role after spending the past two seasons working under Wayne Bennett, Woolf has been clear with his intentions for the squad and the areas he wants to see improve in order to make the finals for the first time, with Nicholls saying the whole squad had responded with a renewed focus.

The 172-game experienced prop, affectionately known as 'the Goat' also said the club were looking to find their ruthless streak to help capitalise on their strong starts.

“The thing with Woolfy is he's pretty direct in what he wants from you and what he expects from you, he's pretty ruthless in holding you to account for that, so I think that can only be good for our team,” Nicholls said.

“He's kept a lot of the way we train the same and this time of year, a lot of the schedule is all the same, so a lot of that stuff that we did was working, so hasn't tried to reinvent the wheel there or anything.

“Reflecting on how our two years have gone, we've been there early in the year and then fell away at the back end; even in games last year there were plenty of games we were in front at halftime and then just couldn't get the job done.

“If you look at the good teams, they're just ruthless teams and they play for 80 minutes, and to be at that level, you need to really understand what's expected of you as an individual and as a team, having real clarity around that.

“I think our assistant coaches this year and Woolfy have been really good at setting that standard early and expectation and then it's about being fit enough to be able to do it for 80 minutes and being ruthless.

“That's where Woolfy’s trying to find the improvement; having trainer a bit quicker, a little less standing around talking about stuff and maybe the fitness has been a bit harder as well, so naturally if we want to be a better team, then that's how we've got to train, hopefully we see the benefit of it.

“For a good majority of the squad, this is their third year here and Woolfy, he’s been here for three years so we now know that our best footy will match it with anyone … so if our best footy's matching it, why can't we do that every week and why can't we do that for a whole season?

“What I've picked up from pre-season, our focus is on being fit enough and ruthless enough to be able to do that for 80 minutes every single week, no matter who you're playing.

“A few of the boys keep saying it's the toughest pre-season ever, but I don't think you’ll find many players that say it's easy this time of year, so I keep reminding them yeah, they don't get any easier, but it’s for the reward at the end.