‘I fell out of love’: The multimillion-dollar boost to awaken sleeping giant

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After another gruelling rehabilitation period, Tom Gilbert agrees enduring and repeated injury can take two shapes.

Either an athlete embraces the lengthy period on the sidelines, confident they know how to get through those tough days, or they wallow in self-doubt over whether they will return to their best.

For the Dolphins skipper – whose ruptured pectoral followed season-ending ACL and shoulder setbacks – his experience was a mixture of both.

Dolphins skipper Tom Gilbert cuts a dejected figure as he leaves the field against the New Zealand Warriors.

“It fluctuates. You start questioning yourself and your ability to physically uphold in a tough game, and it definitely crosses my mind all the time,” Gilbert said.

“That’s the biggest battle about rehab – can I get back, and what will happen if I don’t?

“But all those doubts are, each and every day, less and less in my mind.

“I’m just worried about getting back to playing my best footy, and I’m very confident I can.”

Gilbert’s tenure at the Dolphins has restricted him to just 21 NRL caps in three years, along with an appearance for the Queensland Maroons in which his injury turmoil began.

He was joined in the casualty ward by Thomas Flegler, Daniel Saifiti (shoulder) and Max Plath (ACL), stripping the side of four leading forwards and what is believed to be more than $2 million in their salary cap from round 15 onwards.

It cruelled Gilbert of a return to State of Origin, before he opted to take time out of the rugby league bubble to assess his future.

“It was really hard to deal with it and process it. Sometimes you deal with what could have been, but as time went on I just dealt with what it was and what it is,” Gilbert said.

“I stepped away a bit from the game and thought about what are some things I could do differently, and I just implemented them.

“I spent a lot of time at home with my young boy who was six months old at the time, and that was really special – not many dads have that opportunity – so that was a blessing.

“I had time to step away from footy and try to look forward to it and find ways to fall in love with the game again.”

Gilbert confirmed he would take his place in the Dolphins’ first trial against the Titans on February 12, and believed he would probably line up in the back row.

He expected to play through the middle at some stage, having risen through the ranks as a lock, but Plath’s comeback and the emergence of Kurt Donoghoe could limit that.

Flegler was also plotting a round-one comeback, having not been sighted since round five in 2024 after suffering nerve damage in his shoulder, while Saifiti was also pushing for an early-season berth.

The arrival of England Super League champion Morgan Knowles forced a tight selection tussle for coach Kristian Woolf, after Francis Molo impressed as the go-to enforcer and Donoghoe proved to be a breakout star at lock.

Plath – whose standout showings at lock, and ability to cover hooker had him tipped as a Maroons’ bolter – said he did not expect to come straight back into the NRL given Donoghoe’s performances in 2025.

Max Plath believes he will need to go through Queensland Cup before returning to the NRL.

The 24-year-old felt his knee was in a place where he could be fit for round one, but he said the timeline was more likely round three, and he might need to ply his trade in the Queensland Cup before a call-up.

“Along the journey you get a lot of injuries, so you get that experience of the stages you go through – feeling lonely and not being part of the team,” Plath said.

“It’s also a really good time to reflect on your weaknesses. It’s been a really reflective six months of where I’m at as a footy player.

“I’d much rather be the worst player in a winning team than the best in a losing team – winning is everything for me, and if that’s Kurt’s position, I can figure out another way to help the team win.”

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