Valynce Te Whare to make Dolphins return
Dolphins cult hero Valynce Te Whare will take the next step towards saving his NRL career when Wayne Bennett unveils a junior NSW Origin prodigy in Redcliffe colours.
Te Whare will be the headline act when the Dolphins kick off their pre-season trials campaign against the CQ Capras in Rockhampton on Saturday night. The Kiwi fan favourite was banished from Dolphins training before Christmas after reporting in poor shape and given an ultimatum to lose weight if he wanted to play in the NRL again.
Te Whare did just that and will take the next step towards redemption when he suits up in a Dolphins team of mostly fringe first graders and emerging talent against the Hostplus Cup’s Capras.
Bennett will keep star recruits Herbie Farnworth, Tom Flegler and Jake Averillo on ice until the NRL Pre-season Challenge.
Among this weekend’s players will be Oryn Keeley – the former Newcastle dynamo who fought back from the brink of retirement in his teenage years to pull on the sky blue of NSW. Keeley, 21, suffered a fractured neck when he was 16 and was told he may never play rugby league again.
He missed nearly three years of footy due to the neck injury, Covid and a knee issue, but made his NRL debut for the Knights in 2022, the year he featured in the NSW under-19s Origin team, and played his second first grade game last year. Joining the Dolphins this season on a three-year contract, Keeley has been a standout at training and will present his case for a spot in the second row.