Dolphins move to make ‘priority’ Herbie the club’s first $1 million man

Herbie Farnworth is in line to become the first Redcliffe Dolphins player worth $1 million a season, with the club setting their English superstar as a “priority” re-signing before he hits free agency.

Farnworth, 25, is off-contract at the Dolphins at the end of the next NRL season, meaning he can speak to rival clubs – including expansion arrival Papua New Guinea – in November this year.

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The Dolphins aren’t interested in letting it get that far, with the Redcliffe organisation now preparing a juicy multi-year signing package that could make Farnworth the first NRL player paid seven figures a campaign at the club.

Right now, star fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow make $950,000 a year, and Jeremy Marshall-King earns a little less. The Dolphins’ incredible young halfback Isaiya Katoa is even cheaper again — he’s currently on 275K in 2025 before a three-year upgrade to $650K through to 2028. Thomas Flegler is another play on heavy freight at $900,000 each season.

Farnworth also ranks around those figures, having joined from the Broncos for $850,000 a season in 2024.

The Dolphins do want to keep Farnworth on closer to $800,000 to $900,000 a year, but concede the 25-year-old could command over $1 million on the open market; Redcliffe see him as a long-term superstar for the team.

So too head coach Kristian Woolf, who dubbed keeping the English Test centre a “priority.”

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“I like what Herbie brings. I love his personality and presence around the group, and him as a player. He’s a guy we want to be a Dolphin going forward and build the team around,” Woolf said of his strike weapon, who has scored 11 tries and made 114 tackle busts and 12 line breaks so far this year.

“He’s playing his best footy, and the great thing about Herbie is he’s got improvement left in him. He’s still on an upward track.

“It gets to a point where you almost expect that. He comes up with a big play every week… a line break or offload.”

Should Farnworth hit the open market, there are several clubs very eager to pick him up, ranging from the Brisbane Broncos to the Melbourne Storm – who made a play for him in 2023 – as well as the St George Illawarra Dragons and South Sydney Rabbitohs. Most likely, though is Herbie stays in Redcliffe if he can (and the cash is right).

“Like I’ve said before, I’m still very happy at the Dolphins,” Farnworth said earlier this season.

“I’ve still got this year and next year left, so I’ve got a long, long time here. We’re going in a really positive way. We’ve got some great young players, so nothing has changed in that aspect.

“I always try to get better each year, and I’d like to think I’ve done that.

“I’ve had a lot of help around me. I’ve been helped out a lot by the boys, but I’d like to think I’ve got better each year.”