Stan, Australia’s unrivalled home of original productions, today premiered the first episode of the compelling three-part Stan Original Documentary Series Dawn of the Dolphins, with subsequent episodes premiering on Monday March 13 and 20.
Following their stunning fairytale debut in front of more than 32,000 fans on Sunday as they upset the premiership favourites in the Sydney Roosters, Dawn of the Dolphins documents the formative months of the first new club to join the National Rugby League (NRL) in 16 years. Featuring unprecedented access to the remarkable tale of the Queensland-based side as they prepare to transition from successful community club to elite professional force in the world’s leading rugby league competition.
The fly-on-the-wall camera crew track the year-long preparations, from securing the successful bid to the 2023 kickoff, in a story anchored by the business of becoming ‘NRL-ready’ – including rare glimpses of the pressures and expectations facing the club.
Navigating the club through their first tentative steps is supercoach Wayne Bennett, a giant of the sport, being the most successful NRL coach in history with seven premiership wins to his name. Bennett is a notably private person who returns home to Brisbane to oversee the recruitment and help lay the building blocks for long-term success.
Joining Bennett is CEO Terry Reader, an experienced sports administrator who deals with the challenges of creating a club from scratch, and Peter O’Sullivan, the country’s most revered talent spotter, and the man negotiating the club’s first major signings.
This three-episode series is an exclusive backstage pass to a real-life portrayal of a start-up sports organisation, of livelihoods that will hang off the numbers on the scoreboard, of a talent-rich region hungry for its own flagship NRL club, and the building of a business from the ground up.
Dawn of the Dolphins is a Stan Original Documentary Series produced by Onion TV, in association with Screen Queensland.
The first episode of the Stan Original Documentary Series Dawn of the Dolphins is now streaming, with episodes 2 and 3 premiering March 13 and 20, only on Stan.
Media Release – Stan
