The Dolphins will be the fourth team of the NRL era to start from scratch; Melbourne in 1998, Souths in 2002, and Gold Coast in 2007 being the others.They look to have locked up a pretty solid forward back for 2023, they've got one of the greatest coaches in the history of Australian sport, but are sorely lacking in outside backs.The fortunes of those aforementioned teams in their first seasons varied greatly - and it's difficult to speculate on where on that spectrum the Dolphins will fall.If you could draw up a perfect expansion franchise in Australian, or indeed world sport, the Storm would be it.They finished two points off top spot in their inaugural season before winning a premiership the following year - and aside from the 2001 and 2002 season where they finished ninth and tenth, have made the finals every year since (apart from when they had their points stripped in 2010).They had a well-regarded coach in 1998 in Chris Anderson, and signed plenty of current and future stars - benefitting from the shutdown of several ex-Super League franchises as well as some shrewd purchases from elsewhere.Glenn Lazarus, Tawera Nikau, Robbie Kearns, Rodney Howe, Brett Kimmorley, Marcus Bai, Scott Hill, Matt Geyer and Robbie Ross were all there from day one - many of those coming from the Perth Reds, Adelaide Rams and Hunter Mariners, who were brought to extinction by the collapse of Super League.
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