The Dolphins were granted a licence as the NRL's 17th team on October 13, 2021 for the 2023 season. They started training and paying players just 384 days later on November 1, 2022.
With foundation coach Wayne Bennett at the helm for a 12-month lead-in to the opening season they successfully assembled a squad that finished a credible 13th and then 10th in 2024, despite missing out on signing NRL big guns Cameron Munster, Kalyn Ponga and others.
Off the field, with their facilities and financials, the Dolphins had every box ticked.
In December of last year the NRL rejected the Perth Bears consortium's bid headed by former Western Reds chairman Peter Cumins.
At this stage the NRL will pursue a franchise model that they initially own, while seeking financial assistance from the Western Australian government. The details of that structure are yet to be finalised and ARLC chairman Peter V'landys has indicated that won't be done until after the state's March 8 election.
Giving the new franchise time to get the best coach and players will be critical.
"That is the biggest focus," Dolphins CEO Terry Reader said.
"You can only sign players like (we did). We got no funding, no concessions and we could only sign players who were coming off contract the year before (in 2022).
"They were the conditions we were set and we worked with them.
"Because the Dolphins have come in and been able to do a good job - and our players have done a wonderful job in setting us up along with what we have done off the field - people think it is easy.
"It is actually not. Recruitment was our hardest part."
V'landys remains confident a Perth team will be up and running in 2027. If so they will need to be officially established and training by November 1, 2026.
The Dolphins have played two games in Perth in their short history, drawing 45, 814 at Optus Stadium against Newcastle in 2023 and 20,027 at HBF Park in the clash with Sydney Roosters last year.
Reader met with key movers and shakers behind the Perth bid when in Western Australia, as did former Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett.
The Dolphins have been vocal supporters of a Perth entry into the NRL since their inception and have walked the talk.
"The next best place for the NRL to go would be Perth to put the 'N' in the National Rugby League," Reader said.
"It would be on the other side of the country and give us another time slot for TV which is going to bank roll another side coming in."
The Dolphins had to wait an extra season to sign several of their biggest stars, including England centre Herbie Farnworth who came on board last year after leaving Brisbane.
The Dolphins would have wanted 18 months as a lead-in to their first NRL season at least if they could. Even so, Reader said the time line set for Perth and Papua New Guinea by the NRL may suit current players.
"Now we know PNG is coming in 2028 and a lot of players know another side (in 2027) is coming in their managers are putting them in a position that those years link up with their current contracts," he said.
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