500 reasons why Josh Kerr wants new Dolphins deal
Joel Gould |
Off-contract Dolphins prop Josh Kerr was recruited to the club over a card game of 500 with Wayne Bennett, and now he wants his quest for a new deal to come up trumps.
The 29-year-old is playing outstanding football off the bench ahead of his 100th NRL match, his quick play-the-balls, silky offloads and powerhouse running coming to the fore.
The former St George Illawarra front-rower is expecting his first child, a boy, with partner Dijana on August 10.
One of the most likeable characters in the game, Kerr is yet to start formal talks with the Dolphins, but he wants to stay on at the Redcliffe club where he played his junior footy.
“I get it. It is a business, but I would love to stay a Dolphins player for the rest of my life,” Kerr told AAP.
“I wanted to be a one-club player until the Dolphins came in. I have got my first kid on the way, so it is not about me anymore. I will do what is best for my family.
“I’m only 29, and playing off the bench the last two years my body feels really fresh. If I keep playing good footy, hopefully they want to keep me.”
Kerr’s recruitment to the Dolphins was years in the making and even pre-dated the NRL club’s existence.
“Me and Wayne were in Queensland Origin camp together in 2020 and tossing up what the next team was going to be,” Kerr said.
“I had been telling people for years that Redcliffe had to be.
“I was with Wayne playing 500 at cards, which he loves, and I said ‘I promise you Wayne, the Dolphins will be the next team in because of how strong their development base is, their facilities and financials’.
“He knew he was going to be the coach of the next expansion team and he said, ‘you will be one of the first people I call’.
“I was sitting in a cafe in Wollongong when he called me. He was a man of his word. It couldn’t have been scripted any better.”
Kerr had to see out the final year of his 2023 contract at the Dragons and could not link with the Dolphins in their inaugural year, but joined the club in 2024.
“I loved my time at the Dragons,” Kerr said.
“When I joined they were at the bottom and I wanted to help turn the club around, but to play for my home-town team and be coached by Wayne Bennett was a no-brainer.”
Kerr will come off the bench against Melbourne on Friday night after starring in the 30-12 win over Penrith, where his offload for a try to Connelly Lemuelu, while being crunched by Liam Martin and Nathan Cleary, was reminiscent of the great Arthur Beetson.
“Josh Kerr and Arthur Beetson should not go in the same sentence together,” Kerr grinned.
Kerr and fellow forwards Felise Kaufusi, Mark Nicholls and Kenny Bromwich are all off-contract, so the Dolphins have a salary-cap conundrum ahead of them.
“There’s a salary cap and positions in the squad we are working through every day,” CEO Terry Reader said.
“Those things will take care of themselves as the season goes on. If guys are playing good football they get rewarded with contracts.”
AAP
