The first month of soccer has been an emotional rollercoaster for Kristian Woolf on the Dolphins however he wouldn’t need it another manner, writes PAMELA WHALEY.
Kristian Woolf might have been an NRL coach this season, however the causes he selected this path with Wayne Bennett and the Dolphins are what make him so profitable.
To get two seasons of an apprenticeship underneath the sport’s most profitable and enduring teaching mastermind would be the cherry on high of what’s already a formidable teaching resume for Woolf.
The first 5 weeks of the Dolphins have been some studying curve.
Right now, he’s watching how Bennett handles the emotional hangover that has caught up with them after 4 video games of peak depth for the newly fashioned NRL franchise.
Saturday evening’s 38-12 loss to St George Illawarra in Wollongong was the primary time the Dolphins have been outpaced to this point this season after three straight wins to begin the yr and a blockbuster 18-12 loss to Brisbane in spherical 4.
“It has almost been like four, not grand finals, but really big games,” assistant coach Woolf tells CODE Sports.
“The first ever game is a big one, the first game at Kayo Stadium is another big one, first away trip, there‘s a lot of focus on making sure that we get our routine right and that it becomes a big game.
“And obviously the Broncos was a massive occasion and the build up and everything that went with that game and everything that went on on the night as well. It‘s massive.
“We’ve had a big month and it might be a little bit of a reason as to why we weren’t quite where we need to be. But at the same time, it’s not going to be an excuse, we need to find a way to work a little bit harder next week and be better.”
Add to it the rising harm toll with halves Anthony Milford (hamstring) and Sean O’Sullivan (pec) each sidelined, and Saturday evening was an enormous actuality test for Bennett’s males.
For Woolf, that is the gritty NRL expertise he was after when he left St Helens and joined the Dolphins as a part of Bennett’s succession plan, with an eye fixed to take over in 2025.
It’s a lesson in how the sport’s most skilled coach handles the troublesome occasions in addition to the membership’s highs.
Not that Woolf is brief on expertise in any respect. As St Helens coach he gained each trophy on supply within the English Super League, and has helped flip Tonga into a global powerhouse to rival New Zealand and Australia since he took over in 2014.
He’s additionally hung out as an assistant NRL coach at Brisbane and Newcastle.
Because of his fame and success, he’s been the ‘next big thing’ in NRL teaching circles for a lot of years and was provided gigs on the Warriors, Bulldogs and Wests Tigers for 2023.
But the prospect to be a part of a succession plan underneath Wayne Bennett, in the identical mannequin as Jason Demetriou at South Sydney, was what gained him over.
“I was very certain in my head through a lot of thinking that that was the right thing to do,” he says.
“And I appeared on the alternative to work with Wayne and he’s clearly extra profitable than another coach and does issues a little bit bit completely different than another coach I’ve labored with.
“I might see what that appeared like first hand and see what I might take from him first hand too, and figuring out that I‘m gonna get an opportunity to try and build with him and watch how he builds it, and then work off that was an exciting opportunity and something that I wanted to be a part of.”
So far the pair have had a great level of teamwork where Woolf is extremely hands on in the day to day running of the team, while Bennett handles a lot of the man managing.
Before he joined the Dolphins he did his due diligence that what he was taking on had longevity and that the pathways system was set up to allow long-term success.
Woolf, who always has the utmost respect and support from the playing group wherever he’s working, tries to instil accountability and confidence in his group.
Instead of referring to them as ‘boys’, he calls them ‘men’.
He sees the potential in gamers, the identical manner he noticed potential in Tonga and harnessed it, and the identical manner he sees potential within the Dolphins and what the membership has constructed over a few years.
“There‘s similarities, but there’s a lot of differences,” he says.
“To build things you’ve got to put some steps in place that make the players want to be there, and make the players comfortable with what they‘re getting in terms of preparation and helping them to be the best players they can be.”
It’s why he needs to be an NRL head coach, regardless of the rollercoaster.
It’s value it.
“You get to work with elite athletes, you get to work with young men who want to achieve things in their lives and help them do that.
“There’s a lot of real positives about it.”
